Carl Hayman: Soon to be in a different shade of black?
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Carl Hayman is just one of several All Blacks to be sounded out about a homecoming for World Cup year during the coming month.
Hayman has been in Newcastle for the past three years since New Zealand's 2007 exit at the hands of France, but has always left the exit door partly ajar for a possible return.
He is still rated the best tighthead in the world, and AB Assistant Coach Wayne Smith said he would have some options laid down to him while the team tours the UK, Italy and France.
"I think Carl will probably join the team at some stage to say g'day to the guys," Smith said to the NZPA.
"But he's the sort of guy who makes his own mind up, he's not the sort of guy you coerce into anything.
"And you don't want players to be talked into coming back, you want players who really want to come back.
"Carl knows that he'd be welcome back. He's been a great All Black and we love him. He's just got to make his own mind up."
Luke McAlister has already made a successful return to the New Zealand set-up after a spell of exile, even if his season has been disrupted by injury. Chris Jack has returned via Cape Town and will play in next year's Super 14. Nick Evans and Aaron Mauger are also thought to be meeting the coaching staff.
"We've talked to a lot of the players over here who we thought were a possibility of coming back. Then you've got to leave them to decide what they want to do," Smith said.
"You'd want them back by the middle of next year to give them a decent crack at it."
But Smith insisted there'd be no coercion or favouritism, despite the current side's indifferent form and despite the rushing of McAlister back into the squad despite his own ups and downs since his return from Sale.
Comments
Mexted08 says...
The days of the All Blacks stuggling in the forwards ? , lets get this right the lineout was the issue the clean out and ruck and the scrum not bad but with the old headmaster back in the saddle calling the shots in the forwards and Hanson back out to the backs ( Ex centre ) then all the better to batter for the upcoming test matches against the 6 nation sides pay back will be required against the French , but a tough test stands first against the Welsh ............time will tell
Posted 14:09 04th November 2009
KiwiRooster says...
To be fair, during the last World Cup in the qualifying pool, I found the Italian scrum took the upper hand over the All Blacks' in Marseille. But there is no doubt the ABs scrum has struggled since the departure of Hayman, the same way the line out struggled without Chris Jack. The young blood did well though, and the future for the ABs (along with Springboks, Wallabies, France, England, Wales) looks pretty bright.
Posted 01:30 04th November 2009
supercoach says...
That'd be a SERIOUS coup for the struggling AB forwards...
Posted 21:58 03rd November 2009