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Preview: New Zealand v Portugal

Conrad Smith: Back in the thick of it

The World Cup action will return to Eastern French city Lyon, on the banks of the river Rhône on Saturday, as favourites New Zealand take on rank outsiders Portugal.

Jean Jaures avenue will most certainly be abuzz with activity as the number one rugby team in the world pays a visit to the Stade Gerland, seeking to entertain the people of Lyon - which they will in all likelihood do.

Coach Graham Henry has made a number of interesting changes to his starting 22 - a starting 22 without the 'golden boys' of New Zealand rugby: Richie McCaw, Doug Howlett and Dan Carter.

The All Black team to play Portugal is still a very well-balanced team, featuring a few talented players that have recently been forced to play second-fiddle to some of the greatest players to wear an All Black jersey.

Nick Evans (fly-half), Brendon Leonard (scrum-half), Sione Luaki (number eight) and Chris Masoe (flank) will relish the opportunity to showcase their abilities in a World Cup.

Two players, Conrad Smith and Greg Somerville, will at long last make their returns to the international fray after battling with recurring injuries over the past year.

They will surely want to try and cement places in the All Black starting line-up.

Popular opinion has it that the All Blacks won't necessarily go all out against the Lobos but Henry has already indicated that his men would not take the Portugal team lightly at all.

Jerry Collins, who will lead the All Blacks onto the field this weekend, will have the responsibility of ensuring that the All Blacks put on another clinical performance and send out a strong message to the rest of the teams in the World Cup.

Portuguese coach Tomaz Morais, much like his New Zealand counterpart, has instituted a number of changes in critical positions, under the auspices of squad rotation.

But some of the changes Morais has made have actually bolstered his team somewhat.

The half-back pairing of Goncalo Malheiro and Luis Pissarra is not to be taken lightly at all, as both were very influential in Portugal's World Cup qualifying campaign.

Pissarra, who returns from injury, is in fact a very experienced scrum-half, having played over 50 matches for the Lobos.

In the same vein, pivot Malheiro is the highest points scorer in Portuguese rugby history with 228 points to his name.

Portugal showed tremendous heart in their World Cup opener against Scotland last week - as they did throughout their World Cup qualifying campaign. Expect Os Lobos to show that same tenacity again on Saturday.

There is however, no denying that New Zealand will be a tougher prospect and exciting captain Vasco Uva will have a considerable amount of motivating to do.

Players to watch:

For New Zealand: All eyes will be on two All Blacks who return to the fray from injury. Hurricanes center, Conrad Smith is a consistent performer with tremendous accuracy and vision and has a lot to play for on Saturday - a permanent place in Graham Henry's starting team. Look forward to another hard front-row performance from the All Black heavyweight Greg Somerville, who also makes his return to the team.

For Portugal: Luis Pissarra is an experienced campaigner who makes his return from injury on Saturday. Goncalo Malheiro will be the team's fly-half on the day and together with Pissarra should offer some stability to the Portuguese back-line.

Head to Head: Portugal captain Vasco Uva (Portugal), who was named in Planet Rugby's team of the first round earlier this week certainly made an impression in a losing cause against Scotland last Saturday. He won't have an 80-minute dual with the player many belive should have got the nomination, Rodney So'oialo. But the contest with his opposite number on the day Sione Lauaki (New Zealand) should be equally as exciting.

Recent Results:

It is an historic occasion as both teams have yet to play an international Test against each other.

Prediction: Portugal have tremendous heart and even some great individual talent within their ranks. But the reality is that they are playing against the best team in the world, with 22 world class players taking to the field on Saturday. Os Lobos might resist for a quarter of the game at best. But expect what has been dubbed as the 'Second Strong' New Zealand team to accumulate 100 points.

New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Isaia Toeava, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Jerry Collins (c), 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements: 16 Anton Oliver, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Carl Hayman, 19 Rodney So'oialo, 20 Keven Mealamu, 21 Andy Ellis, 22 Leon MacDonald.

Portugal: 15 Pedro Leal, 14 António Aguilar, 13 Miguel Portela, 12 Diogo Mateus, 11 Pedro Carvalho, 10 Gonçalo Malheiro, 9 Luis Pissarra, 8 Vasco Uva (c), 7 Diogo Coutinho, 6 Paulo Murinello, 5 Gonçalo Uva, 4 Marcello d'Orey, 3 Ruben Spachuck, 2 João Correia, 1 Andre Silva.
Replacements: 16 Rui Cordeiro, 17 Joaquim Ferreira, 18 David Penalva, 19 Tiago Girão, 20 João Uva, 21 José Pinto, 22 Duarte Cardoso Pinto.

Date: Saturday 15 September, 2007
Kick off: 13:00 (12:00 BST, 11:00 GMT)
Venue: Stade Gerland, Lyon
Referee: Chris White
Touch judges: Hugh Watkins, Marius Jonker
Television match official: Dave Pearson
Assessor: Bob Francis

By Siya Mchune