Carter doubtful for series finale

Dan Carter is one of several New Zealand players in doubt for Saturday’s series finale against Wales in Hamilton.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry is due to name his team tomorrow but assistant coach Wayne Smith said a decision on whether the star fly-half will play is not likely to be made until two days later.

Carter pulled up with a tight calf late in the 42-9 triumph in Carisbrook last weekend and was replaced by Aaron Cruden.

But by that point the 28-year-old had left an indelible mark on the match. Aside from kicking four conversions and three penalties, Carter showed he was back to his best with ball in hand as he ran Wales ragged to score two of his side’s five tries.

“He’ll have to have a couple of days of modified training,” Smith said. “We probably won’t be able to make a decision until Thursday on him given the nature of the tightening of the calf.

“It’s not actually a calf pull or anything like that, it’s just a tightening. But we’ve got to make sure it’s right.”

Smith said the possibility of Wales being without their experienced number 10 Stephen Jones (thumb) would play no part in their decision to play Carter.

“We’ll play him if he’s right. If he’s not right we won’t play him.”

If Carter is ruled out, the spotlight will turn on last year’s International Rugby Board’s Under-20 player of the year, Cruden.

The 21-year-old Hurricanes pivot has a total of 32 minutes of international rugby under his belt after 25 minutes against a hapless Ireland and the last seven minutes against Wales where he was only denied a maiden Test try by a solid Ryan Jones tackle that bundled him into touch by the corner flag.

“We’ve brought Aaron in to develop him and he’s shown he can just step into a Test match and play, which is promising,” said Smith.

Carter’s limited involvement at training will also ensure Cruden gets an extended run with the team in the build-up to the Waikato Stadium clash.

“It’s actually a good thing giving him a bit more time steering the ship. He hasn’t got any problem with that,” Smith added.

“He’s very composed and he’s got the right personality to be ordering people around. But it will be good for him to be in there and have to do that for a few days.”

Lock Anthony Boric, full-back Israel Dagg and centre Conrad Smith are the others in doubt for Saturday’s match.

Boric has a fractured cheekbone, Dagg concussion and Smith got a poke in the eye which has left him with blurred vision.

But given the nature of the injuries and with the Tri-Nations just around the corner it is unlikely any of them will be risked this weekend.

Smith was also coy on whether the likes of Zac Guildford, Piri Weepu, Adam Thomson and Aled de Malmanche would get starts after getting little or no game time during the past two matches.

Henry had hinted prior to the first Test against Wales that he wanted to give all his players opportunities to press their claims for selection in the Tri-Nations squad.

But given the possible absence of such key personnel those plans may be shelved.

“The first thing is that we’ve got to win this Test match – I think that’s key,” Smith stressed.

“It’s all very well talking about things and working on things but at the end of the day we’ve got to stick it on the track again so we’ve got to pick the right players to do that.”

He also made it clear that a repeat of the first half at Carisbrook would not be tolerated.

The All Blacks lost in the possession and territorial stakes and were put under pressure by some astute kicking from Stephen Jones and the Welsh rush defence.

Although they led 15-9 at the break, Henry’s half-time pep talk left his team in no doubt that he expected better – and he got it.

Smith hinted that a lack of “edge” had contributed to the slow start - possibly the result of such a one-sided encounter against the Irish.

“The week before we started really well against Ireland but then there were a lot of players who were unsure, who were anxious and who were going into the unknown and that tends to make you uncomfortable and raises your level of performance quite often,” he explained.

“I don’t think there was quite that same feeling last week. This week we’ve got to ensure that the build-up individually is genuine and the boys that we select really get stuck into it from the start, not just halfway through.”