Former Bay of Plenty flanker Brett Sinkinson has joined a growing list of New Zealand rugby players who are launching their test careers not from here, but in the Northern Hemisphere.
Sinkinson was yesterday named in Graham Henry's Wales team to play France in the Five Nations match at Paris on
Sunday (New Zealand time).
Sinkinson, who plays for Welsh club Neath, had a season with the Waikato Chiefs as an openside flanker before moving to Wales.
He joins John Leslie, Andy Ward, Gordon Simpson, Martin Leslie, Glen Metcalfe, Shaun Longstaff and Shane Howarth as New Zealanders playing in the Five Nations championship.
Sinkinson, who had a Welsh grandfather, played for the Whakatane Marist club in the Bay of Plenty before linking up with Neath, and also shone during Wales A wins over Scotland and Ireland last month.
Henry said he became aware of Sinkinson's abilities from his efforts in New Zealand.
"I remember him scoring a last-minute try for the Bay of Plenty in a Ranfurly Shield game against Auckland. He is a very mature and experienced player," Henry said.
"We have tried to bulk up the pack, and I feel that Brett will be the more destructive type of player that we are looking for on this occasion."
Henry is under no illusions about the size of his team's task, but hopes last season's 51-0 thrashing of Wales by France at Wembley will serve as a motivating factor.
"There is no point in us lying in bed in the mornings and thinking about a possible Five Nations whitewash; that is not part of the agenda," he said.
Henry also named a new front row, giving test debuts to two players who learned their rugby overseas.
Hooker Barry Williams and props David Young (who was not considered because of a calf injury) and Darren Morris have been dropped and replaced by Swansea's Garin Jenkins and clubmate Ben Evans.
And London Irish loose head prop Peter Rogers has been called up for his first cap.
Rogers played for South Africa's Gauteng Falcons in Super 12.
Team: Shane Howarth; Matthew Robinson, Mark Taylor, Scott Gibbs, Dafydd James; Neil Jenkins, Robert Howley (captain); Peter Rogers, Garin Jenkins, Ben Evans, Craig Quinnell, Chris Wyatt, Colin Charvis, Brett Sinkinson, Scott Quinnell.
