Henry happy to have Carter at inside centre

NEW Zealand coach Graham Henry revealed the decision to play Dan Carter at inside centre for the historic Bledisloe Cup match with Australia on Saturday was one borne out of necessity.

The talented fly-half will line-up at number 12 at Hong Kong Stadium with Stephen Donald making his first start for the All Blacks at stand-off, having impressed when coming on for the final half-hour of the thrilling 28-24 victory over the Wallabies in Brisbane that sealed the Bledisloe Cup. With little competitive action under their belts since that September triumph, Henry felt it was vital both players were involved from the start, with a gruelling tour of Europe looming large.

“We thought it was important to have two navigators on the field because of their lack of rugby over the last six weeks,” Henry said.