Waisake Naholo will be 'ready to go' says All Blacks Asst coach Ian Foster, and the team itself are raring to go. Both fronted the media today on the first day of training as they prepare for the first match of RWC2015 against Argentina.
Waisake Naholo is as much a mystery to the All Blacks as he is to the rest of the world.
With just 45 minutes of test football behind him, no one really has any idea what to expect from Naholo at this World Cup. And that includes the All Blacks.
Opponents will have Super Rugby footage on which to base their analysis but that may deliver barely half the picture of what the 24-year-old is all about when he wears a black shirt.
It will confirm that Naholo has top end pace: frightening acceleration, raw power and a capacity to magic tries from nothing. Everyone will be able to deduce he's a dangerous player. It's how dangerous - that's the question.
The All Blacks don't want to commit to a definitive answer on that, but it's obvious they have a belief they can elevate Naholo to a whole new level again.
They picked him - knowing he was injured - partly on the basis of what he'd delivered at Super Rugby and partly because they could see how they could adapt and advance his game.
All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo with assistant coach Ian Foster. Photo / Brett Phibbs
The art of test selection is to see the qualities of the individual and then project them into the All Blacks: to forecast how the raw materials could be used to shape the machine.
The Highlanders used Naholo well, but it's a different kettle of fish being part of an All Black side that is loaded with world class players. Naholo has shown he doesn't need much space to be deadly, but as part of an All Black line that has intelligence, speed, skill and power, he could be given the ball with, figuratively, acres to play in.
He could be used as a first receiver coming in hard off a long flat Aaron Smith pass or worked off Ma'a Nonu's shoulder in the midfield.
That's the element of the unknown here - how the All Blacks will utilise him and just how effective and influential Naholo could become in this campaign.
"We would have to assume so," said All Black assistant coach Ian Foster when asked if it was likely opposition sides would feel they had a good handle on Naholo. "We'd have to assume that they would have a pretty good handle from watching him play for the Highlanders. They will have learned something.
"What they won't know is what he does in our team; in our structure. And neither do we. He's only played 45 minutes. So we are excited to be getting him back on the park.
"He brings an exciting skill-set to the game so we are looking forward into incorporating that into our play when he's ready to go. And the opposition will know bits and pieces but it is hard to have a clear picture until they see him on the park."
Naholo remains on track to play in the All Blacks third game - against Georgia in Cardiff. He's been cleared to take a full part in training but will be assessed day by day to see how his leg reacts to the increased training and running load.
If and when he gets his chance against Georgia, he's going to be under a little bit of pressure to deliver a performance that convinces he's fully recovered.
Opponents will have Super Rugby footage on which to base their analysis but that may deliver barely half the picture of Waisake Naholo. Photo / Getty
"There is going to be healthy competition...put it that way," said Foster. "Like a number of positions we have got a plan, but it is not easy to plan around Waisake because he's been out for a while.
"We are going to watch him closely to make sure he's ready to g back in there and once he's back in there, we will make our assessment and give him all the tools we can. Clearly after that we are going to have some big decisions to make. It is wide open."
