In from the cold to the heat of battle

TWO weeks ago, with the All Blacks due to fly out for Cardiff the next morning, Nick Evans was resigned to spending the month back home on the Otago Peninsula engulfed in his other great sporting love, fishing.

Though Graham Henry had named a bulging 35-man panel for the trip, there was no place for the 25-year-old out-half, who found himself behind Daniel Carter and Luke McAlister in the queue at number 10.

It must have been a bitter blow to the Takapuna man, who had earned four caps last year from his previous position at full-back and who had since changed his position and indeed his province, partly on the advice of Henry and his All Black assistants.

All that changed when McAlister was diagnosed with a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. Hours later, Evans was on a 6.40am Air New Zealand flight bound for Wales.

His return from the cold was complete on Tuesday with his selection at out-half for Saturday’s game against Ireland at Lansdowne Road.

Carter’s tour de force in Cardiff and McAlister’s demolition of the Lions in the third Test in Auckland are the markers Evans must reach in a jersey that has been made famous by men like Earl Kirton, Grant Fox, Andrew Mehrtens and Carlos Spencer.

This is, he accepts, his big opportunity to stake a claim for a central role in the side’s assault on the World Cup in France in two years’ time.

“It’ll be interesting starting at 10. I’ve had the privilege to play 15 before, so, I have that under my belt. I’ve had a crack at full-back and enjoyed it, but I think I play better footy at 10.”

An agile player who is stronger than he looks, Evans is deceptively quick and possesses a howitzer-like boot that has been honed in Aussie Rules, where he was selected to represent New Zealand before he focused his full attention on the other oval code.

The change from 15 to 10 isn’t the easiest transition to make. Stephen Jones spoke last week about how he had found it difficult to shake the tendency to drift back from the line and into the natural terrain of a full-back.

“You’ve gotta be in that line,” said Evans. “You have traffic all around you and you have to be able to make decisions. At full-back you get a lot more time and space but that’s why I enjoy 10 a lot more.

“I’m thrust into the moment where you’ve gotta make decisions on your feet and I think that’s one of the skill bases I’ve improved on throughout the year.”

Though he claims otherwise, stepping into a completely overhauled XV has the potential to make his bow in the pivot all the trickier, not to mention the unique environment that is Lansdowne Road in modern day rugby.

“We actually had a session with the younger guys who haven’t played that many Tests and Doug Howlett (48 caps) was telling us what it was like to play at Lansdowne Road because his second Test was there.

“We took a lot from that and we’ll get into the ground [tomorrow] and have a kick around. I’ve read a lot about it so I’m looking forward to witnessing it.”

The stakes are high for the visitors. Though far from a ‘dirt-tracker’ selection (could there possibly be such a thing with the All Blacks?), as many as eight of those starting know this may well be their one shot at proving theirs is a face that fits.

In one way, the demolition of the Welsh by their colleagues has left them in a lose-lose situation even if Evans prefers not to view Saturday in those terms.

“They played pretty well, didn’t they, those guys? That sort of pressure is going to come from outside though. Within the camp we’re just focusing on what we need to do. That game is gone now. We’ve just concentrated on Ireland and if we win by one, it’s still a win.

“I haven’t played Ireland before so that’s going to be new. Judging by their form and the people they’ve got they’ll be able to step up to it. Every international is a hard international.

“I found that out in 2004 playing Argentina. It will be a battle and hopefully we can weather the storm for maybe the first 15 or 20 minutes and just get into our work from there.”