RUGBY: Hayman fires All Blacks engin

Phil Wilkins - Rugby Heaven

The smoke of a Test match inevitably emerges from the fire of the scrum, and on Saturday night, stoking the furnace against Australia will be New Zealand's Carl Hayman - the most destructive force in international rugby.

Over and above the many contributing factors, it was the massive tight-head prop who paved the way for the All Blacks' absorbing, step-by-step, metre-by-metre revival from a 9-18 deficit to an eventual 26-21 victory in Durban last weekend.

When South African coach Jake White was ringing the changes with increasing desperation late in the Test, the one player he dared not take off was his talismanic 34-year-old loose-head prop, Os du Randt. In all of his international squad, he trusted no other to combat Hayman - and still the Boks lost.

Led by Hayman, the unrelenting power of New Zealand's scrum slowly squeezed the life and limbs from the Springboks pack, with only "Ox" du Randt's 125kg physique preventing the All Blacks winning by a landslide.

Since New Zealand's semi-final elimination by Australia in 2003, the lingering motivation for the 1.93m, 120kg, black-bearded Hayman has been his omission from the All Blacks' last World Cup campaign. Along with his Otago teammate and then 27-year-old hooker Anton Oliver, the front-rower was devastated to be left out by New Zealand's coach of the period, John Mitchell.

Significantly, when Graham Henry took the reins again after Mitchell's term ended, one of his first actions was to rush the pair back into the international fold. Last Saturday, both jogged out in New Zealand's starting XV against South Africa.

Despite the undoubted and outstanding talents of Keven Mealamu, Oliver is regarded as the superior scrummager. Mealamu's mobility and workrate make him an exceptional replacement off the bench, as was obvious at Absa Stadium.

New Zealand's forwards coach, Steve Hansen, told Fairfax rugby writer Marc Hinton of Hayman's enhanced standing among the All Blacks: "The thing that has really impressed me about Carl is his maturity as a person. He has grown tremendously and that is reflected in his preparation. It's reflected in his work ethic in the gym and the things he was probably not good at. Because he's doing that stuff from Sunday to Friday, his performances on game day have really improved.

"He's always been a good rugby player, and now he's probably the No.1 tight-head in the world. He's a huge asset to any side. He is 122kgs of sheer muscle. He's a big man and naturally strong. Not only is he a great scrummager, but also he's an outstanding lifter - which is handy in a lineout."

The rising alarm in the South African television broadcaster's voice foretold doom for the Springboks as the "enormous pressure" of Hayman started to tell and the "black tide" began freeing up the ball.

Suddenly, No.8 Rodney So'oialo was carving a 50-metre swathe through the Springboks' defensive line, carried on by his Wellington crony, Jerry Collins and finished by winger Joe Rokocoko, and the Test was over. Justifiably, Hayman's arms were held high at the final whistle.

They call Durban's ground the Shark Tank. Make no mistake, the black shark of the New Zealand team is Hayman, the ferocious No.3 diving headlong into every wave of every scrum, sending tremors through opposition packs.

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