Richard Boock: Rare bird: The greater-booted first five-eighth

COMMENT

If New Zealand's endangered species register were to be updated today it's a fair bet that Andrew Mehrtens would become the most recent addition, to be ranked right up there with the kakapo and the yellow-eyed penguin.

The man who guided Canterbury to their fifth NPC crown on Saturday night did so with the quality of a master craftsman, and possibly the last pair of educated kicking boots in the land.

Just what has happened to this delicate sub-species remains unclear, but the enormous vacuum behind Mehrtens is difficult to ignore, and should be raising questions at New Zealand Rugby Union level.

The issue was highlighted again in the NPC final on Saturday night, when Mehrtens' general kicking accuracy not only provided Canterbury with superior field position throughout, but added a degree of control to their game that Wellington could not hope to emulate.

It might be that the veteran No 10 tackles like a revolving door and can no longer gas through a slim gap, but his ability to pass well to either side, and to put his forwards on the front foot make him easily the most constructive first five in the land.

Ironic, isn't it, that after decades of decrying the English and smirking at their reluctance to run the ball from near suicidal positions, one of New Zealand rugby's biggest problems is their ignorance of the kicking game.

There will be those who continue to run the practice down, perpetuating the fatuous belief that the game is all about scoring tries, as if winning should be treated like some sort of accidental spin-off.

It is, of course, complete tosh; akin to claiming cricket is all about hitting fours and sixes - and so what if the entire team is dismissed in a single session?

Where were these troglodytes when Gerald Bosch was machine- gunning the All Blacks in 1976, and Jonny Wilkinson leading England to glory at last year's World Cup?

As it is, Mehrtens has seemed the last of a dying breed for a number of years, and almost the complete opposite of his Auckland contemporary Carlos Spencer, whose kicking game is much inferior to his running talents and sleight-of-hand.

Possibly the best prospect in terms of field-kicking remains North Harbour's fringe All Black Nick Evans, who has Aussie Rules-tutored feet and far more range in his punting than any of his rivals.

For all that, barring a colony of Barry John's offspring being discovered somewhere in the Far North, or soccer suddenly being banned on pain of death, it's difficult to see where the next generation of genuine kicking five-eighths will come from.

So it's hardly surprising that one of Graham Henry's biggest tasks on next month's Northern Hemisphere tour will be to identify the man he believes has a long-term future in the position.

If he can successfully transform Daniel Carter, the problem will obviously be solved.

But it's not long ago that Laurie Mains had the same thought about Marc Ellis, and paid for it in a test against England.

Possibly the best move for Henry would be to leave Mehrtens behind next month in order to find out as much as possible about the up-and coming pretenders, and identify their readiness for the top level.

That way, if all else fails he'll at least have the option of relocating Mehrtens into a Robbie Deans-free zone, or using him to launch a captive-breeding programme back in Christchurch.

48 hours

High point

Northland's gutsy and patient win against Nelson Bays in the first division promotion-relegation showdown on Saturday afternoon. It mightn't have been a memorable season for the Taniwha, but they delivered when they needed to most.

Low point

The Kiwis' Tri-Nations loss against the Kangaroos yesterday morning at Loftus Road, after getting us all revved up with a 12-8 halftime lead.