Lomu could have been 'worked over' by Wallabies, says Deans

3.00pm

DURBAN - Jonah Lomu was deliberately not picked for the All Blacks' two tests against the Wallabies this year because he could have been "worked over" by the world champions, New Zealand assistant coach Robbie Deans said.

The giant winger makes his return to the reserves bench against South Africa in Saturday's Tri-Nations test here. He held the same position against the Springboks in their test in Wellington last month, yet missed selection for the squad in both Wallabies' tests.

Deans indicated Lomu was more suited to the confrontational style of game played by South Africa.

"We chose not to enter Jonah for the Australian game because we felt the mix that we took in suited our strategy for that day," Deans said.

"Australia are a very team-oriented side and they're very clever at identifying opportunities and working people over.

"We wanted to approach that game on a team-oriented basis as well."

Deans was probably referring to Lomu's infamous inability to turn and chase quickly.

Lomu was far trimmer than prior to the start of the test series due to hard work and motivation.

"He came into the international season not in the sort of shape he was happy with, and we weren't either. He's made good progress and now he's ready to go," Deans said.

Although only on the reserves bench, Lomu was surrounded by hordes of South African media, proving he remains a cult figure worldwide despite his lack of game time.

He was as approachable as ever to the foreign media, being particularly buoyed by the New Zealand sevens team's gold medal performance at the Manchester Commonwealth Games over the weekend. Lomu starred in the 1998 winning team in Kuala Lumpur.

All Blacks coach John Mitchell was pleased with Lomu's improvement this year but said the game-breaker was still not ready for a starting position ahead of right winger Doug Howlett or Caleb Ralph on his specialist left wing.

"Jonah gives us the ability to take out defenders but we're looking for workrate in our back three and we get it with our composition," Mitchell said.

- NZPA