KEY POINTS:
All Blacks winger Scott Hamilton is working hard to regain top form after being recalled to the Crusaders for the Super 14 rugby semifinal against the Hurricanes here tomorrow night.
Sent back to his North Canterbury club Glenmark for a taste of grassroots rugby over the past month, Hamilton said he was grateful coach Robbie Deans had drawn on his greater experience for the semifinal.
Disappointed at losing a few weeks out of the limelight, Hamilton said he had "really enjoyed" reuniting with his old clubmates after having played only two previous games for Glenmark in the last couple of years.
"Obviously, I'd rather be playing here (with the Crusaders), but I've been given another chance and it's a big game."
Hamilton said he felt his recent indifferent form was not too far from his best.
"I know (Deans) wanted a change and I think he felt he could get more out of the other guys. That happens in rugby all the time.
"I wasn't playing at the top of my game, but I felt I was doing enough. But that's probably why I was perhaps getting a little comfortable and not doing enough."
Hamilton said he had been working hard both at club level and at Crusaders training.
He said club rugby was a good place to "try a few things" and work on his confidence - "things you wouldn't normally try in a Crusaders game".
After last Saturday's shock 14-26 loss to the lowly Highlanders, he said Deans had been "yelling at us" in training to coax the Crusaders out of "our comfort zone".
"We haven't really been pushing ourselves," he said.
"We thought we were, but obviously with the results on the track we haven't.
"This week we're going to have to snap out of that and really express ourselves on the paddock."
Hamilton expects the Hurricanes to use "the physical presence they bring" in a "bullying" style of game.
"They're big, hard runners ... (Ma'a) Nonu, (Jerry) Collins and all of those boys.
"They've made the top four, so they've got to be a good side and we all know they've got good players throughout their team.
"The big thing for us is shutting down their runners and shutting down their offloads.
"We've got to stop them from getting a roll on and really start frustrating them, because that's where we've been at our best in the past," Hamilton said.
He said it was great to be playing at home.
"Hopefully, it should make a bit of a difference with a home crowd and probably a howling southerly coming through."
The South Island is predicted to be in the grip of a strong, icy southerly front sweeping across the country this weekend.
- NZPA
