Boks boss Straeuli welcomes return of Umaga and Lomu

JONAH LOMU and Tana Umaga have been recalled to the All Black squad to face South Africa in a Tri-nations match in Wellington on Saturday.

The two, controversially dropped from the squad that beat Australia 12-6 in the first Tri-nations clash in Christchurch last Saturday, were named in the 22 on yesterday.

The return of injured lock Norm Maxwell, who missed the match against Australia which doubled as the first leg of the Bledisloe Cup because of a hamstring injury and the reinstatement of Lomu and Umaga, are the only changes to the squad.

Reserve fullback Ben Blair, midfield back Daryl Gibson and lock Royce Willis make way for the incoming players.

Loose forwards Taine Randell, Marty Holah and fullback Leon MacDonald remain on the injured list and were not considered for selection.

South Africa coach Rudolph Straeuli has welcomed the return of Jonah Lomu and Tana Umaga.

"Umaga and Lomu are two home boys from Wellington," Straeuli said yesterday.

"And for us, a New Zealand side without Lomu is not a challenge, so we'd like to play against him."

Straeuli said the Springboks had prepared well for the series.

"Just reading in the newspapers, you would think there was only two sides the way it was reported in the last two weeks," he said. "Nobody has said anything about us. We're a new team. Nobody knows about us. We are an unknown factor.

"We've had four test matches and we've won all four and building as a side and working well."

Australia coach Eddie Jones said he was optimistic wing Stirling Mortlock would overcome a shoulder injury for the test against South Africa on July 27.

"We won't know any more on Stirling until Wednesday when he'll be reassessed," Jones said yesterday.

"He'll only undergo a scan if Wednesday's examination suggests further investigation is needed."

World and Tri-nations champions Australia have named a 24-man squad for the match, adding Queensland flanker David Croft and former rugby league international Wendell Sailor to Saturday's team.

Queensland's Sailor, a 106-kilogram (233-pound) wing who switched codes late last year, made his test debut against France last month but was dropped last week for Ben Tune, who had recovered from injury.

All Blacks squad: C Cullen (Wellington), D Howlett (Auckland), C Ralph (Canterbury), J Lomu (Wellington), M Robinson (Canterbury), T Umaga (Wellington), A Mauger (Canterbury), A Mehrtens (Canterbury), J Marshall (Canterbury), B Kelleher (Otago), S Robertson (Canterbury), R McCaw (Canterbury), S Broomhall (Canterbury), R Thorne (captain, Canterbury), S Maling (Otago), N Maxwell (Canterbury), C Jack (Canterbury), G Somerville (Canterbury), D Hewett (Canterbury), J McDonnell (Otago), T Willis (Otago), M Hammett (Canterbury).