By WYNNE GRAY
Choosing the blend of midfielders has been a consistent point of intrigue about the direction of All Blacks rugby.
There have been formidable partnerships like Ian McRae and Paul Little, Bill Osborne and Bruce Robertson, Warwick Taylor and Joe Stanley, and the most distinguished of recent times, Walter Little and Frank Bunce.
Traditionally, a player of power and force has been alongside another with the complementary skills of making space for his colleague. Those roles have swapped between second five eighths and centre.
In the last few seasons injury, form and selection did not find a settled combination or fusion of abilities. Mark Mayerhofler, Caleb Ralph, Scott McLeod, Eroni Clarke, Norm Berryman, Alama Ieremia, Daryl Gibson, Pita Alatini and Christian Cullen have all been used in various mixes.
But apart from a debut test for Mark Robinson at centre, the Alatini-Ieremia partnership has pushed through this season as one which might have some longevity.
The pairing has been inspected vigorously by the All Black panel, analysed on computer, and then backed by the selection instincts of Wayne Smith, Tony Gilbert and Peter Thorburn.
Just 24, Alatini has five caps, an array of nifty footwork, distribution and improving defence, while 29-year-old Ieremia has stepped out 27 times in All Black tests where his aggression, support play and power have been enhanced by the intuitive teamwork he has with his fellow Hurricanes.
As a centre Ieremia is returning to the style which made him such an exciting player in the Super 12 in 1997 when the Hurricanes made the playoffs. But Ieremia broke his collarbone and subsequent foot, knee, and leg injuries dulled that promise.
"I struggled to get any decent momentum for some time," he said. "I always seemed to be trying to get fit or sitting out games and could not get my full confidence.
"I used to play this sort of expansive game in the old days and I think it is a pattern of play which Graham Mourie has helped to work up plays with my mates. It brings confidence.
"We have been doing that with the Hurricanes and it is very similar with the All Blacks.
"They do not restrict you, they give you the licence to show your skills. Sometimes we force it but ... the onus is on the players not to try to repeat silly mistakes."
The Alatini-Ieremia mix had one outing at the start of last season when the All Blacks played NZA but in the washup Alatini gave way to Daryl Gibson for the rest of the year.
Tonight at Stadium Australia is just the third time Alatini and Ieremia have played a test together where they face the experienced core of Jason Little and Daniel Herbert.
"Jason is certainly a world-class act. He has been up there a long, long time and I have played him only a couple of times and I will have to be on top of my game to really nail it down," said Alatini.
"Every game for the All Blacks is right up there but definitely this is the biggest occasion for myself - Stadium Australia, Bledisloe - so it is just another dream."
Part of coach Wayne Smith's backline preparation for this test will be knocking any trancelike awe out of his troops, especially a Tri-Nations novice like Alatini. But Smith has faith in the young man's talents, he rates his defence, likes his continuity play and evasive running. It is an affirmative choice rather than a holding pattern selection.
As a small child in a large Tongan family, Alatini reckoned he learned his elusive running "to get away from the big hitters" in the backyard.
"I don't know where it went wrong with the old Tongan heritage when I look at Jonah and myself," he said with a laugh.
"I work on my sidestepping skills and then what to do when you come up on a one-on-one situation and making the right decision, whether you step, feed or step and go."
Alatini's mentor is his father, Malakai, who was first five eighths for Tonga when they forced a huge boilover in 1973, beating the Wallabies at Ballymore. An All Black win tonight would not sit in that category, but it would be a huge fillip for the rest of the international scehedule.
Rugby: Right blend is put to the test
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