Jeff Wilson hopes to repay the faith All Black selectors have shown him in Saturday's Test against Samoa at the North Harbour Stadium.

The chance to extend his 54-Test and 39-try record comes at the expense of Jonah Lomu, whose exclusion from the squad has drawn some criticism of the selectors and coach Wayne Smith. "Yes, I do feel lucky," Wilson said Thursday of his selection for the season opener.

"A lot of people have been saying I didn't do much in the Super 12, and I know the selectors are copping a bit of stick about it. They have to realise that I missed four matches right in the middle and that knocked my confidence. It was one of the reasons I went back and played a couple of club games.

"I didn't feel as if I was playing poorly but I sure as hell wasn't playing outstanding rugby," Wilson admitted. "I got better as the season went and I got involved more but when it came down to it, I guess my opportunities on the field were limited."

Smith said Wilson began showing some confidence in his last couple of games for the Highlanders. But it was on the strength of his past that Wilson was picked ahead of Lomu for his first start on the left wing. "I'm just so glad to get out there. I don't mind playing on the left wing because Doug Howlett is such a brilliant player.

"I guess I'd rather play fullback, but left wing is where I am and I will be working very hard to pay back the people who backed me and got me into the Test team again."

Wilson took eight months off rugby last season "to get a little space of my own. I wanted to feel my life wasn't everybody else's life," he said.

From the day he made his debut at Murrayfield against Scotland in 1993, when he scored three tries and kicked a conversion, Wilson has carved a brilliant career in rugby. He was regarded by John Hart, the former All Blacks coach, and former South Africa coach Nick Mallett, as the best rugby player in the world in 1996-98.

Wilson conceded that his present selection was perhaps the result of his past record. "I think everybody acknowledges that," he said. "But it's up to me to erase those thoughts and now I have an opportunity to do it."

Wilson said Samoa's ruggedness and physical game meant the All Blacks would have to control the match if they wanted to win well. "We have to get out there and execute everything we have been working on," he said.

"We have to control the game - that's what you have to do against a team like Samoa. They come at you hard so you have to take them on and play accurately, otherwise they'll just smash you around."

Smith said Wilson worked hard over the past two weeks and would swap wings with Howlett when it suited. "He lacked a bit of confidence, which was a new phenomenon for him," Smith said. "He worked hard to get that back and he deserves his chance to show he's still got what it takes at the top level." - Sapa