All Blacks retain Cribb
August 14, 2001

All Black selectors handed erratic No.8 Ron Cribb a lifeline when he was retained in the 23-man squad for Saturday week's Tri-Nations clash against the Springboks in Auckland.

Wellington No.8 Jerry Collins seemed set for a recall after Cribb's poor performance against the Wallabies at Carisbrook.

Collins' greater accuracy at the scrum base and stronger tackling is something the All Blacks were howling out for in their shabby effort in that area in Dunedin.

New Zealand selectors have two options at No.8. The first, and most likely, is to retain Cribb in the starting line-up; or move Taine Randell to No.8 and bring in Waikato's specialist No.7 Marty Holah.

Other areas where the starting side could see changes is in the inside-backs with halfback Justin Marshall and five-eighth Tony Brown under pressure from Byron Kelleher and Andrew Mehrtens.

All Blacks squad:
Backs: Leon MacDonald, Jonah Lomu, Jeff Wilson, Doug Howlett, Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini, Andrew Mehrtens, Tony Brown, Justin Marshall, Byron Kelleher. Forwards: Ron Cribb, Taine Randell, Marty Holah, Reuben Thorne, Troy Flavell, Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell, Mark Cooksley, Carl Hayman, Carl Hoeft, Greg Somerville, Anton Oliver (capt), Mark Hammett.

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