Wynne Gray: Read's form a concern for ABs

New Zealand All Blacks captain Kieran Read. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Kieran Read's form has flat-lined this season and that pattern continued in the All Blacks latest win against Tonga.

He captained the team in the absence of Richie McCaw, but the lingering memories of his form will be the dropped ball and a yellow card he received for a professional foul just before halftime.

This is not Kieran Read as we know him, not the dominant No 8 who was NZ player of the year in 2010 and was picked as World Rugby's player of the year in 2013.

He's started against Argentina, Georgia and Tonga in this tournament and was subbed on against Namibia but that workload has not helped crack the code for his horizontal form graph.

There was a flicker of the old venom from the No 8 in the All Blacks opening World Cup test against Argentina with his array of carries, offloads and lineout options.

However we saw a dip today against the muscular Tongans where his handling in contact and under the high ball deserted him while he was became the third All Blacks to be sinbinned in this tournament.

Read has not repeated his stellar 2013 form and that coincides with problems last year after head knocks when he missed five Super rugby games and several tests while he sat out another game this year after taking a blow against the Waratahs.

The 29-year-old stood down for a few weeks but expressed his confidence he was not struggling with the problems which blighted his previous season.

"I'm feeling great. It was more of a precaution really around the head and certainly wasn't like it was last year, so I'm feeling great to get back on the field and be a part of finishing this season off," he said.

Read has been a constant first pick for the All Blacks this year and steady in his role without the presence we remembered. In the build up to today's test he acknowledged everyone needed to step up after three average victories.

"I'm pretty happy with where I'm at to be honest in my personal game. As a team we can really grow and we can always improve as individuals but I'm really happy with where we are it. It's a good launching pad," Read said.

When the No 8 matches his production with that evaluation there will be some gaps after the latest win against Tonga.