Rugby: Rational selections key for AB coaches

Midfield back Ma'a Nonu. Photo / Getty Images

Presented as luxury, choice has been more of a burden for the current All Black coaches. Paralysis by analysis has been an old failing - an inability to decipher their best options and make the tough calls.

Think back to 2007 and that dreaded quarter-final in Cardiff, so many choices and the coaches talked themselves out of picking the obvious - the men they trusted.

In an eerie way, the All Blacks of late 2010 are beginning to resemble the men of 2007. Having been on the bones of their backside in terms of player resource 12 months ago, there is now a depth of talent - particularly in the backs.

The midfield is the hottest spot. There is a cluster of options and the arrival of Sonny Bill Williams has created the sort of dilemma that undid the coaching panel at the last World Cup.

Williams has this extraordinary ability to offload. It's a freakish skill, one which gives the All Blacks a new dimension. The temptation to pick him each week must be huge and that will only grow as the World Cup approaches.

Not only is Williams still learning his technical craft, physically he has so much more to come. By September he could be stronger, faster, wiser, more polished and the most irresistible force to play the game since Jonah Lomu.

But the lure of Williams has to be tempered. In Ma'a Nonu, not only do the All Blacks have a world-class player, they have a world-class combination.

Since 2008, Nonu and Conrad Smith have been the preferred midfield and, throughout the Tri Nations, there was talk of these two being in the same league as Walter Little and Frank Bunce.

It may seem like a wonderful place to have reached but this is an impossible choice and one the selectors could agonise over - and reach bizarre conclusions.

Already there is more talk of Nonu being wing cover. There is more talk of Nonu possibly playing centre and all three coaches are adamant Williams can handle both roles even though he so clearly looks best at second five.

How this dilemma is handled will reveal what this panel learned from 2007.

One of the great failings of the 2007 World Cup campaign was the failure to build an established pairing. The selectors didn't value the power of combinations and paid the ultimate price. Having so many choices frazzled their logic and arguably the greatest challenge facing them next year is making clear and rational selections.

In 2006 and 2007, it always felt like there was an element of showboating to the teams they picked. It was as if they wanted to prove their theory that if they had 30 test-class players, it wouldn't actually matter which 15 started.

The changes from week to week were constant and in the end they lost sight of their best XV, if they ever knew at all.

The omens, at this stage at least, are promising in that traditional values have taken grip. Reuniting Nonu and Smith for the Irish test was an indication that the panel may have been seduced by Williams, but not to the extent they will ignore what they have been building in the last three years.

"It was an easy decision," said Graham Henry about opting for the established combination. "We are fortunate that we have got some strong alternatives to play there. Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith have played for the All Blacks for four or five years and have done a hell of a good job and we acknowledge that and that is why we have selected them for the test."

Talk like that will have done much to soothe the obviously fraying nerves of Nonu. He and Smith have made a pact to help Williams, to do their best to fast-track his education.

These two old pros know that ultimately the All Blacks are all about the team. But at the same time, they also know that three doesn't fit into two and that there will be a midfield casualty each week.

All talk now about the increased edge they feel on selection day. The reality is that each test, a world class midfielder will miss out. The coaches will need to manage bruised egos and there could be plenty of those.

"I never take selection for granted," says Nonu. "I just have to train and play like every game is going to be my last."

Competition is fierce in more than just the midfield. It is intense throughout the backline and once the legion of wounded recover, the problem is only going to be worse.

For the coaches, the pressure will be intense. They have known some of the current squad for eight years - there is a closeness there, a bond that has drawn them tight. With such a strong shared history in some cases, it won't be easy to leave certain players out; of the squad or match-day 22.

It is something the panel have already thought about. They know they can't avoid the truth and their strategy is clear.

"On one hand, it is not hard because the team always comes first and everyone knows that," says assistant coach Steve Hansen. "But on the other hand, it is tough. The hardest part is disappointing people and it is the same as life really, you don't want to do that because it is difficult.

"But if it is the right thing for the team, then you have to do it - 33 doesn't go into 30, 35 doesn't fit into 30. When you are on tour, 30 doesn't fit into 22 so there is always going to be somebody disappointed.

"You want them to be disappointed because if they are not it doesn't mean anything to them. It is not easy but it is part and parcel of being a coach. You have to front up. If you do it with honesty and integrity, there is no problem.

"It is when you try to keep everybody as your mate, try to keep everyone liking you because you are not telling them something they don't want to hear but you need to because that's the truth; that's when you get into trouble.

"But if you are honest and say, 'look, you are not playing and here are the reasons why', people cope and get on with it. I have always found that is the best route - it is tough but that's the job so get on with it."