(Corects number of changes to forwards in paras 10-11)
WELLINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Conrad Smith will return for
New Zealand’s Rugby Championship clash against Argentina on
Saturday after the centre missed two Bledisloe Cup tests against
Australia due to eye surgery.
Smith and Ma’a Nonu have had a long partnership at Super
Rugby and international level and were the first choice centre
pairing for the All Blacks during last year’s World Cup
campaign, though they have not played together since beating
France to win the Webb Ellis trophy.
Smith had two surgeries on a detached retina following the
conclusion of the Super Rugby tournament and was unavailable for
the All Blacks victories over the Wallabies last month.
The 30-year-old Nonu was rested for the June internationals
against Ireland, and when he returned to the side for the Rugby
Championship he was moved out to centre to accommodate Sonny
Bill Williams.
Williams has since left on a short-term playing contract in
Japan and is then expected to link up with a rugby league club
in Australia.
Smith’s return will bring greater balance to the backline,
with Nonu and Williams both line-breaking players who appeared
to lack a little cohesion in linking with their back three in
the tests against Australia.
“We have been working on constantly improving our game and
that has again been our focus this week,” All Blacks coach Steve
Hansen said in a statement.
“We were happy with our intensity and attitude in the last
test against Australia, but not so happy with our execution when
we didn’t get the decision-making process right on occasions, so
we are looking for improvement in that area this weekend.”
Continued…
