Graham Henry has placed his faith in fly-half Colin Slade as New Zealand prepare to face Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals.
All Blacks coach standing by inexperienced fly-half
Graham Henry has placed his faith in fly-half Colin Slade as New Zealand prepare to face Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
Much has been made of the tournament-ending injury to record-breaking stand-off Dan Carter, gifting stand-in Slade a place in the starting line-up.
But with only 10 Tests to his name, Slade does not carry the gravitas Carter did in the No 10 shirt as he looks to marshall a team full of All Black stars.
However, Henry is backing Slade to deliver despite the weight of a nation on his shoulders.
"I've been pleased with him - I think he's getting better," said Henry. "He's getting more comfortable in the group. He's obviously the navigator of the team playing at 10, he's got to run the ship.
"And that's a big ask when he's playing with guys who have played 100 Test matches and 75 Test matches and so on and he's played 10 at most.
"It's a big ask for him, but he's getting more comfortable, he's enjoying the environment - I think he'll play well."
Ongoing
Henry is also concerned about the niggling foot injury to Richie McCaw, who was named in the starting XV against Argentina despite not being 100 percent fit.
"It's niggly and he's looking after it as best he can," Henry added. "It's just an ongoing thing. He's just got to do what he can during the week to perform at the weekend. He's controlling himself very well.
"He runs on it, feels good, wakes up the next day and feels niggly again. Hopefully we've got three games ahead of us and it's just a matter of trying to make sure he's available for those three games.
"He's got to tailor what he does running-wise to be able to handle that eventuality."
Israel Dagg (thigh haematoma) and Richard Kahui (hamstring) failed to overcome injuries as expected while Adam Thomson was also unavailable for selection.
"We just don't think Dagg is ready," added Henry. "Richard Kahui's got a hamstring and he's not that far away but he's a big risk, so we decided not to play those two.
"Thommo's not fit. He was selected initially in this team but hasn't come through training. He's the same as Richard and Israel - he's just not quite right yet.
"They'll be ready for next week. We've got a big occasion before then we need to win. They'll be ready if we do the business against Argentina."
