KEY POINTS:
Prop Neemia Tialata thought seriously about bypassing the All Black tour to give his damaged calf muscle a gentle recovery before he plunged back into Super 14 competition.
But the 129kg Tialata was dissuaded by the lure of more international experience and the conviction of the medical team
he would be fit for the second test on tour.
"It was the chance of the black jersey, I could not turn that down," he said.
He revealed yesterday he tore his calf in two places in Wellington's national championship win against Auckland and gave himself no chance of making the final and slim odds of being fit for this tour.
Tialata had compartment syndrome surgery on both calves in 2005 to relieve the pressure on his muscles which built up in the final stages of matches. He feared the calf tear he picked up against Auckland in the final scrum of that game was connected to the surgery.
His recovery was compounded by gout in his big toe, something which recurs when Tialata undergoes long-distance air travel. "I have had it for some time and there is no preventive medicine."
He had eliminated seafood from his diet as that inflamed the problem.
With that and his inability to do much more than walk in the opening week of the tour, Tialata was uncertain whether he would make the bench at Lyon against France.
But his pain disappeared, he got back into running and subbed Tony Woodcock late in that test.
He had a similar run in the weekend's test in Paris and must be shortlisted to turn out against Wales this weekend in the final test on tour.
Tialata started his test career against Wales on the Grand Slam tour last year and has now played both sides of the front row in 11 tests.
If he starts, his greatest concern may be about the state of the ground at the Millennium Stadium. Video of Wales' latest 61-26 win against Canada showed the packs struggling to find any stability in scrums because of the way the turf ripped out of its base.
The massive prop is not in the protected 22 who will miss a big chunk of the Super 14 and is looking forward to making an impression with regular game time in that series.
"I prefer to play," he said. "I want to use the time to improve the skills that they want me to be better at. I am just one of those players who would rather play than train."
Another player whose odds of starting may have increased this weekend is midfielder Luke McAlister.
He was the only reserve overlooked during the Paris test but doubt about Aaron Mauger's fitness has improved McAlister's chances of playing his 12th test in Cardiff.
Mauger has been struggling with a knee problem all tour and according to assistant coach Steve Hansen aggravated the problem late last week in training.
Meanwhile, McAlister talked about the difficulties of staying positive when he was on the road for so long and not playing a great deal of rugby.
But he and others who were not regular selections had to stay strong to support the entire group.
It was important to balance hard training with down time and the team's entertainment manager Byron Kelleher was an important part of those duties.
"It will be more important in the World Cup, there will be a big emphasis on that during the tournament," McAlister said.
Advances in technology meant he could see and talk to family back home over the internet, something which was a great boon to a young married man with a daughter.
McAlister could not imagine how the All Blacks of yesteryear coped when they were away from New Zealand for months at a time.
