Up and under: Could Sanzar mixed combo beat Lions?

By WYYNE GRAY

Even Jim Phelps might have baulked at the idea. It was not Mission Impossible. It could be done. But there had to be some doubt about the outcome.

However, unlike Phelps, the brave leader of that group of television freedom fighters, there was no option about this assignment.

The mission was to pick the best Sanzar XV to play the Lions.

It was not a mythical request from Vernon Pugh - though initially it seemed as dubious as his concept of an annual North v South rugby test.

It was uninviting largely because of the average work from the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies in their start to their 2001 test schedules.

Where was Murray McCaw when you needed him, and wasn't it refreshing to hear someone from the New Zealand Rugby Football Union finally offer the strength of opinion McCaw did when he rubbished Pugh's concept: "The stupidity of it leaves me bemused and bewildered."

There was a difference. McCaw was not needed for another outburst. This selection concept was hypothetical, whereas Pugh was deadly serious about his hemisphere challenge.

Fortunately this choice was imaginary because finding a cure for Auckland's transport problems suddenly seemed a far easier job than picking the best Sanzar XV. Look at a couple of issues to underline the dramas.

Who would play No 8? The Springboks had used Andre Vos, but then switched him to openside flanker and replaced him as leader with Bobby Skinstad.

The All Blacks had alternated between the out-of-form Ron Cribb and injured Jerry Collins. The Wallabies had not seen much from Toutai Kefu.

Was there an impressive fullback in the Southern Hemisphere to fill in for Christian Cullen until he recovered from his third round of knee surgery?

The Wallabies could not decide between Chris Latham, who boiled during the Super 12 but fell off the element in the opening test against the Lions, and Matthew Burke.

The Springboks vacillated between peroxide Percy Montgomery and left-field pick Conrad Jantjes, while the All Blacks tried Leon MacDonald.

The selection tremors were growing stronger. Who would captain the side? Vos, Skinstad, John Eales, Anton Oliver, or someone different?

My thinking took on another detour. Was I restrained by present form or even players, or could I use those well-worn lines of the All Black selectors about knowing a player's pedigree, trusting his experience, and the evidence of statistics only the panel and the backroom boffins had access to?

The international evidence was sketchy. The Springboks had played France (twice) and Italy, and changed their side markedly.

The All Blacks had also used their player rotisserie and the Wallabies had been troubled by the NZ Maori and mauled by the Lions.

Certainties were few. But there were some, and they were All Blacks.

Oliver had played better than Springbok John Smit and would be the Sanzar captain; Norm Maxwell had been all vim, vigour and consistency as a middle-of-the-lineout lock; Pita Alatini had shown much more elan than the bludgeoning Japie Mulder or Nathan Grey; and Jonah Lomu had been a repeated menace.

But wait, there were more. Leon MacDonald had been a shade above adequate at fullback, which was a shade above the mediocrity delivered by Montgomery, Latham and Burke so far.

Butch James was a liability because of his tackling style at first five-eighths, and Montgomery was just a liability.

Stephen Larkham was the best in the world, but was poor against the Lions, and Andrew Mehrtens had scarcely got his tracksuit off.

So the man in the No 10 jersey has to be Tony Brown: honest, reliable, strong and so competitive.

Ditto for Reuben Thorne on the blindside flank. He is not going to ignite the world rugby scene. He is dependable where his competitors have been erratic, and this selection is on the evidence in front of us this test year.

Thorne will be the worker, George Smith the scavenger and Skinstad the organiser in a complementary loose forward trio.

The All Black front row have wavered, the Wallaby props have crumbled, so two Springbok bookends are in. John Eales has been quiet and overtaken by Maxwell, but David Giffin is a class lock.

His countryman, George Gregan, slips in on what may be a concession to history, Robbie Fleck and Andrew Walker have been dynamic broken-field runners and get their chance.

It's not a side to make anyone quake in their boots. Perhaps it's just as well Pugh's idea is some way off.

Mythical Sanzar XV: Leon MacDonald, Andrew Walker, Robbie Fleck, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu, Tony Brown, George Gregan, Bobby Skinstad, George Smith, Reuben Thorne, Norm Maxwell, David Giffin, Willie Meyer, Anton Oliver (capt), Ollie Le Roux.