All Blacks repeat would suit Bracken

Kyran Bracken hopes his recall to the England Test side, after chief scrum-half rival Matt Dawson today failed a fitness test, will prove to be a case of history repeating itself.

Dawson, the first choice half-back, was forced to withdraw from the side to play New Zealand after failing to shake a thigh injury which has limited his training for most of the tour.

But, 10 years ago, Bracken made his debut against the All Blacks at Twickenham after receiving a late call into the starting XV.

The result? England 15 New Zealand 9.

“The last time it happened was 1993 when Dewi Morris pulled out on the Thursday,” said Bracken, who will win his 45th cap here in Wellington. “I hope it is a good omen.”

That day remains Bracken’s dearest rugby memory, even though his impressive performance was ended early with a broken ankle after it was stamped on by Jamie Joseph.

“It was a massive occasion, to get my first cap and to beat the All Blacks was fantastic,” he said.

“It is a little bit different out here, playing this All Blacks team has a different feel, but I am excited about it.”

Bracken played nearly an hour in the rain and whipping wind against a physical Maori side on Monday night and must now back up for a high-octane Test match just five days later.

But as England head coach Clive Woodward predicted after the game in New Plymouth, the lure of a Test start heals wounds quickly.

“I feel really good actually,” said Bracken. “I only played 50-60 minutes on Monday, so I have been told I can eat what I want this week to get my carbs up. The recovery side is important and I have been doing that with the midweek side.”

Despite Bracken’s upbeat approach, it is far from an ideal situation for England with the match just three days away.

Dawson’s thigh injury forced Woodward into changing his Grand Slam-winning XV, though the side loses none of its experience against an All Black line-up boasting two new caps and Doug Howlett playing full-back for the first time in a Test.

The England camp are all confident they will not have to break stride in the coming days to accommodate Bracken. The transition, it is hoped, will be seamless.

“I have only done two sessions with the main squad so I haven’t had the most amount of time, but how we are going to play it is not too different so hopefully I can slip in,” said Bracken, who captained England to the USA in 2001.

“It is never easy because it is a different game from being on the bench and then suddenly starting, but I have been around a long time and I have got to be able to step up to the plate.

“Obviously Matt is ahead of myself and Andy Gomarsall, and there are some big boots to fill. I am looking forward to the challenge and hopefully it can go well this weekend.”

Woodward backed Bracken as a world-class replacement for Dawson, who was included in the Test side named yesterday only for team doctor Simon Kemp to decide his injury had not fully responded to treatment.

But Dallaglio, whose relationship with Bracken at the base of the scrum will be key to unleashing the backs, has no qualms about the switch.

“Kyran is in the groove,” said Dallaglio. “He’s ready to rock. He comes into the game on the back of a good performance on Monday. We are lucky to have those players, with Andy Gomarsall coming in as well.”

Neither Dawson nor Bracken has enjoyed a regular run in the side and their combined total of 94 caps is split almost evenly down the middle.

Gomarsall, who made his England debut a year after Dawson in 1996, has come back into the picture of late and the competition for places is intense.

Bracken will have lost count how many times he has fallen in and out of favour.

“We have been competing for 10 or 11 years,” said Bracken. “We have been at it for a long time now. It’s hard. I suppose I am used to it, but I would like not to be used to it.

"The most important position in rugby is fly-half, then you look at hooker and scrum-half. If you lose games, which you are going to, you tend to look at those positions and tend to get the axe when things don’t go very well. This is another opportunity.”

Bracken has played New Zealand three times, winning the first, losing at Old Trafford and then drawing at Twickenham in 1997.

“He is playing in a good team; Kyran is hugely experienced – it’s not like you are bringing a novice, and he has been training with the side anyway,” said Woodward.

“It is always a blow to lose a player when you have selected him but it will make no difference to the Test match result at the weekend.

“Kyran is more than capable of stepping up and sometimes you get a better performance out of someone who has got his chance.”