Wynne Gray: Making an impact from the start

Impact players. They are one of the new dimensions in the modern game of 22-man rugby, an option which has delivered all sorts of theories about their best use.

This international season, All Black hooker Keven Mealamu and utility Springbok Brent Russell have shown the dynamism that coaches look for from the bench.

In selection and injury twists, both have starting roles for tomorrow's Tri-Nations test at Pretoria. After Anton Oliver was dropped, Mealamu had to be tested as the starting All Black hooker, while Russell has taken over from injured Springbok fullback Jaco van der Westhuysen.

This is a serious test for both.

The All Black hooker is a tidy lineout thrower and a real threat to tiring defences with his pick-and-go expertise round the fringes.

Mealamu is in the middle of an All Black front row which will be challenged hard by an invigorated Springbok pack. It may be coincidental that Carl Hoeft, probably the best loosehead scrummager in New Zealand, has also returned to pack.

Hoeft may not be the most agile or athletic prop, but he knows his core business in the scrum. However, if there is a repeat of some of the scrummaging indifference shown against Wales, then the long-term starting rights of both players will be questioned.

A similar inquest will be made of Russell. The diminutive 80kg back has been a public favourite in South Africa, but coach Rudolf Straeuli has been reluctant to start him in internationals.

That has surprised many in the Republic who have watched Straeuli churn through 71 players in 14 tests as New Zealand has wondered at the rotation programme of John Mitchell, who has been niggardly by comparison, in using 55 players in 17 internationals.

While Mitchell has never disclosed his player selections until the due date, about 10 weeks ago Straeuli offered a range of thoughts about his World Cup squad.

He listed a group of about a dozen players he favoured. There were the obvious suspects such as Corne Krige but others were injured, out of form or, like Russell, on the fringes.

Even allowing for his obvious talents, Russell seemed an odd choice then as a World Cup certainty. He was a dynamic sevens player, but he did not fit the Springbok backline template of big, bruising, direct athletes.

However, he showed last year what a talent he was. When Andre Pretorius quit with a knee injury on the eve of the Springbok test against the Wallabies, there were cries of calamity.

Russell stepped up and was a sensation as the Boks recorded an unlikely victory to match the result last weekend when Russell starred again after coming on as a replacement fullback after three minutes.

Perhaps Straeuli wanted to keep the "pocket rocket" in hiding until the World Cup. Now he probably has to start at fullback for the rest of the Tri-Nations. A similar decision about Mealamu may not be so clear-cut. He could acquit himself very well tomorrow, but the selectors may feel he is even more dangerous as an impact player.