Training paddock a world away from Mehrtens glory days

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX

While the All Black squad dabbled in some serious pre-cup work yesterday - such as signing packets of Toffee Pops - another of the country's rugby legends was getting back to basics on the rugby field.

Despite holding New Zealand's record for scoring test points and being one of the most-capped All Blacks, and having clocked up over 1000 points for his province, Andrew Mehrtens will not feature at this year's cup.

On Saturday, when the All Blacks warm up for their opening match against Italy, Mehrtens will be warming down from an NPC game - if he takes the field at all.

It has been a year of injury and disappointment for Mehrtens - in contrast to Carlos Spencer's impressive season that earned him the No 10 jersey to Australia.

But after yet another two weeks of injury, Mehrtens was back on the field at Rugby Park, Christchurch, yesterday as the Canterbury team were put through their paces.

A bandage was on the hamstring-affected left thigh but the pace was fast and the passing precise on a balmy spring day.

The voice was working too, in the form of regular directives offered to other players and coach Aussie McLean. It looked and sounded like serious training.

Even the comical bushy sideburns had been trimmed back to a serious, respectable level.

But getting words out of Mehrtens for reporting purposes was another matter. All other Canterbury players were available for interviews. The World Cup is probably a touchy subject for the first-five.

He reportedly blamed himself in 1995 after the All Blacks' nail-biting loss against South Africa in the final - despite being the only New Zealand player to score any points at all.

And tonight, when the squad head to Melbourne, the 30-year-old will not be with them.

Those who think he should be will have to console themselves by watching the Canterbury vs Auckland match for some grassroots rugby skills instead.

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