Nevertheless, there still is fire in the belly as Cribb figured in a punch-up with Blues colleague Paul Thomson at training on Tuesday. He will be rugby's version of the Tasmanian devil when he comes off the bench as he needs a big game to get back in favour with the All Black selectors. With Christian Cullen ruled out of New Zealand's coming three Tests following knee surgery, the switch of Spencer to fullback is an intriguing one. In spite of such an array of All Black talent, the Sydney rugby public is largely ignoring the game, with only half the tickets sold by late yesterday. They'll be hungry.
All Black caps are up for grabs.
It's full of form players from the Super 12. The Australian team will be announced today, with a growing suspicion that form player Andrew Walker might win a wing spot from Matt Burke. On the strength of his powerful play in the Super 12, Chris Latham is assured of being the fullback. However, it is difficult to imagine Burke not being in the side as a counter to Lions superboot Jonny Wilkinson when the three Tests against the Lions are played. Your best source of IT news, views and jobs at Australian IT .