Henry puts faith in ‘special All Black’ skipper Mealamu

NEW ZEALAND coach Graham Henry is not concerned about the lack of experience in his side to face Scotland today.

Henry has given three players their debut and selected six more players with less than 10 caps, but feels there are enough natural leaders in the side at Murrayfield.

Stand-in captain Keven Mealamu in particular was singled out as an individual Henry can rely on when the going gets tough.

“He’s a special All Black in the way he conducts himself both on and off the field. He’s a great role model for the other guys,” Henry said.

“He’s an outstanding player. I’m delighted that he’s got this honour. He’ll captain the way his character is. He’ll gather information from other leaders in the team and make a decision and he’ll lead from the front with his own performance.

“We’ve got a policy of having six leaders on the field. For this game they are Joe Rokocoko, Ma’a Nonu, Stephen Donald, Piri Weepu, Ali Williams and obviously Keven, and they have spoken to the leaders who have been appointed for the year about their role and what is expected of them.

“These new leaders will learn from this experience.”

Even some of the novices in the team will be expected to use their leadership skills today. Henry pointed out that the two debutants in the back row have both captained their provinces this season.

“Kieran Read and Liam Messam have quite a lot of experience at the level below international rugby,” he added.

“Now they are starting their apprenticeships as internationalists and hopefully this tour will establish them as genuine All Blacks who will be serious contenders for the years to come.

“That’s the beauty of this sort of tour; when you’ve got five games on the trot and you’re together for five weeks, you can develop rugby players. There is a lot of development going on out on the practice pitch and in the hotel. It is a special opportunity for us to do that and the only opportunity we have during the year.”

Henry recognises he has left himself open to criticism by picking such a different team from the one which took the field last weekend against Australia, but insists it is necessary for the All Blacks to do so in order to get the best out of the players.

And he stressed winning Test matches will always be the number one priority. “This is the only opportunity the All Blacks have to develop a rugby team with some depth to it,” added the former Wales coach.

“You can’t do it in a one-off game against Australia or South Africa, so if we didn’t have a tour, we couldn’t do it at all. “Hopefully we’ll go home from this tour a much stronger unit, with greater competition for places.

“But it is not only about development. Just because the tour enables us to develop players that doesn’t mean we haven’t got a huge desire to win each Test match.

“We have come here to do well, play well, and hopefully win.”

Meanwhile Scotland’s Thom Evans insists his side have been given a licence to thrill against New Zealand.

While coach Frank Hadden opted for tried-and-tested combinations in the pack, he has a trio of exciting youngsters in the three-quarter line who have only seven caps between them in an effort to catch the All Blacks out.

Evans is confident his selection, along with that of Nick de Luca and Ben Cairns, is a gamble that can pay off.

“There is a real sense that we have a back division capable of going out there and causing the best team in the world problems,” he said.

“Frank has given us a bit of a licence to play, so we’re going to go out there and really have a crack at them.”