Dylan Cleaver: Thomson key in Messam's Cup chances

Liam Messam. Photo / Getty Images

If Messam does miss out on Henry's final cut, his misery will have company.

It is uncomfortable enough going into a test knowing your performance could swing World Cup selection one way or another. Those anxiety levels must be taken to another level altogether when you're relying on someone else alongside you playing well, too.

That's the uncomfortable situation facing Chiefs' utility loose forward Liam Messam.

He gets a chance to start at No 8 against the Springboks in Port Elizabeth tonight, where he will come up against one of the world standard-bearers for the position, Pierre Spies. If there's one key battle the All Blacks have had a clear advantage in when they've played South Africa in recent years, it's been at the back of the scrum where Kieran Read has proven to be Spies' nemesis.

If Spies suddenly turns on his rampaging best at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, it won't be a great look for Messam on the eve of the All Blacks' World Cup squad announcement.

Perhaps just as importantly for Messam, however, is the battle on the side of the scrum. He would be wise to take unusually close notice of how Adam Thomson shapes up as a potential back-up for Richie McCaw at openside flanker.

If Thomson is given a complete bath by the returning Heinrich Brussow, a renowned fetcher, in the loose, the portents will be worse for Messam than they are for the Highlander.

It might lead Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith to beat a hasty retreat from their preferred position of not carrying a second specialist openside flanker. Suddenly the Braid brothers, Luke and Daniel, and Canterbury's Matt Todd, might re-enter the frame.

It's not how they'd script it. McCaw will probably get just one game off during the tournament, so selecting a second No 7 would be an extreme security measure, one the selectors would only take if they had close to zero confidence in either Thomson or Messam covering that role.

Should they go down the route of a second specialist, Thomson would be more likely to hold his place than Messam on the basis of his work this international season.

It would be a huge disappointment for Messam, a gifted ball-player who has yet to be able to put his stamp on any of the three loose forward positions at international level.

The All Black coaches were especially pleased with the way Messam went about his work on last year's Northern Hemisphere tour and would have taken further heart from the 27-year-old's work with the Chiefs during the Super 15. In a disappointing side, Messam was consistently good and spent time in all three loose positions.

But his performances in the black jersey over the past month have been muted. While others like Thomson have taken their games forward, Messam looks stuck on a treadmill.

If he does miss out on Henry's final cut, his misery will have company.

The loose forward mix is one of the few areas of conjecture left ahead of Tuesday's announcement in Brisbane, the other being at wing/ fullback.

It is in the back three in particular, where two or three very good players are going to have to satisfy themselves with watching the World Cup on widescreen TVs.