Smith surviving the Blacklist

IF there is one thing more difficult than becoming an All Black, it is staying an All Black. No-one knows that better right now than Conrad Smith.

Like Keith Earls last Saturday, Smith scored a try with his first touch on his international debut, against Italy, in Rome in 2004 but progress ground almost to a halt for much of the next three and a half years.

Injuries, including a broken leg, didn’t help. Neither did the presence of guys like Tana Umaga, Aaron Mauger, Luke McAlister and Mils Muliaina standing ahead of him in the queue for starting slots in the midfield.

Retirements, repositioning and the lure of European cash slowly opened up the door. He has now played nine of 12 tests this year but his place is already under serious threat, from Richard Kahui.

The younger man only debuted against England in Christchurch last June but an eye-catching display in Murrayfield seven days ago left the decision on who to choose for today’s test in Croke Park in the balance.

Smith can’t have been helped by a niggling groin injury that saw his day off in midweek sacrificed to sessions in the physio’s room but it was a small price to pay in order to close the door a few inches more.

In the end, Graham Henry came down on Smith’s side, his partnership with provincial team-mate Ma’a Nonu, who plays at 12, going a long way towards his inclusion.

Kahui’s shadow has receded for now, but not for good, and Smith readily admits that the waiting game in the days and hours before the teamsheet is printed makes him a bit twitchy.

“Richard is a class player. It’s the beauty of being an All Black. You face a lot of competition from the guys you play against and within your team.

“It puts a lot of pressure on you but that’s a good thing. I have been in a similar position to him where I was playing well but couldn’t seem to break into the side. That’s something we all go through.”

Smith is an interesting character. Called ‘Snake’ because of his ability to slip, rather than smash, through defences, he possesses the vision and handling skills to set up gaps for others around him.

His pedigree is beyond question too. His great uncle Jack Walter wore the Silver Fern seven times in the mid-1920s and his uncle Alan Smith carried on the burgeoning family tradition when he won three caps between 1967 and 1970.

His own contributions tend to be underestimated or ignored at times, hence some of the reason for the groundswell of opinion for Kahui this week, but the same can’t be said for the man wearing the other number 13 shirt this evening.

Brian O’Driscoll’s form and future have been discussed and dissected for nearly two years on these shores now but the Irish captain’s elevated position remains unsullied in the minds of the travelling Kiwis and their press corps.

If you are an All Black centre this week, then questions about the Leinster man have been as systematic as they have similar. The first is always something along the lines of how highly they rate him.

“I only played him the once in that Wellington game (against Ireland last June) and it wasn’t somewhere anyone could show their best with the awful conditions. I have always rated him as a great player. I faced Stirling (Mortlock) a lot more and the two of them are who I and most people would consider the best, if only in terms of the length of time they have been doing it.”

SMITH and Nonu will be given a searching examination today if O’Driscoll can play to the peak of his powers and Fitzgerald can continue to progress in the midfield cauldron like he has on the fringes up to now.

“It can be quite daunting. I get it over it by the fact that it is not one guy against one guy, it is about two teams and which one comes out on top. O’Driscoll is great at the tackle and the breakdown.

“He is probably the benchmark there in terms of the way he competes at the tackle area. He is fast and powerful and great at distributing as well. Centres have got to have a range of skills like that.”

Truth be told, Smith won’t be the only All Black under pressure to perform today. Losing to Ireland for the first time is a stigma no Kiwi will want and they have named the strongest possible side to ensure that doesn’t transpire.

They rebounded impressively from their World Cup disappointments this year by claiming the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations but their last two outings against Australia in Hong Kong and the Scots have been far from unblemished, even in victory.

“Hong Kong was a tough game, coming together and playing over there. We were frustrated by the way we played but we did feel it was tough to perform in those conditions. We are keen to up our game, even from the Scottish game.”

As a wise man once said, there is plenty of room at the top, but no place to sit down.