All Black Selectors Forced To Re-think.

The Canterbury Crusaders loss to the ACT Brumbies in the final of the Super 12 rugby championship has forced
the All Blacks selectors to rethink the line-ups for next week’s trial.

Prime candidates could be the inclusion of flyhalf Andrew
Mehrtens, who has
been out of favour with the selectors and did not make the World Cup
last
year, and the exclusion of fullback Ben Blair who did make the World
Cup side.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry said on Sunday that while he preferred
to
reflect on the team’s courageous fightback, a couple of Crusaders
“self-destructed” as the Brumbies opened up a 33-0 lead in
the opening 20
minutes.

While the Brumbies 47-38 win would not have a major impact on the
44 All
Blacks triallists to be announced Monday, Henry conceded “there
might be a
minor influence there”.

He would not say if the influence was the 60-minute performance of
Mehrtens, who has barely played this season, leaving the selectors
with little
choice but to omit him from the trial in Auckland on June 1st.

After Mehrtens came on the field against the Brumbies it changed
the course
of the game as the Crusaders scored 38 points to 14.
It appears some Crusaders did their national selection prospects
no good
whatsoever.
“A couple of guys self-destructed a wee bit in the Crusaders
side and that
gave away points, which was disappointing,” Henry said.

Although he did not name names, All Blacks fullback Ben Blair had
a
nightmarish game on defence.

AFP – 2004.