Strange tiki tour for All White Coombes

All Whites warm-up in California

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All White Shane Smeltz in action against Mexico.

All Whites v Mexico highlights

LAWRENCE SMITH

CHALLENGING: All Whites debutant midfielder Chad Coombes challenges Mexico's Andres Guardado during the teams' friendly at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

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Palmerston North and Pasadena. Chad Coombes has been to both this week, and completes his strange tiki tour with a trip to New Caledonia on Sunday.

Five days ago, Coombes was playing before a handful of fans for Auckland City against Youngheart Manawatu in the NZFC. Last night, he debuted for New Zealand in front of a 90,000-capacity crowd so vocal he couldn't hear his teammates' calls.

"Three games in seven days - and they will be a completely different standard, all of them,'' said a grinning Coombes in the Rose Bowl dressing-rooms after the match.

He only heard of his call-up to the national side on Saturday morning, but played 55 minutes at left wingback last night and afterwards, All Whites coach Ricki Herbert suggested he'd all but booked himself a ticket to South Africa.

"Chad has done his chances no harm,'' Herbert said. "I've thrown him in there, I've looked and asked for things, and without saying he's in, he certainly hasn't done his chances any harm.''

Coombes has played for New Zealand secondary schools and the national under-20 side, but that was back in 2002, and he was close to giving up on representing the All Whites when the call came.

"This year was my year: if I wasn't going to make it, I had booked a flight at the end of June to go to London - Allan Jones [former Auckland coach] had got me a club to trial at, but I guess that's on hold now,'' he admitted.

Coombes has been to two Club World Cups with City - Sunday's trip to New Caledonia is part of their O-League qualifiers for another visit - and said that helped him cope with the amazing atmosphere at the Rose Bowl. "I wasn't overawed,'' he said. "It was a wicked feeling to take in, then zone in and concentrate on the game.''

Normally used upfront by Auckland, Coombes had plenty of work to do down the left and admitted he'd struggled positionally: but he'd like to shift there permanently and it's as wingback cover for Leo Bertos and Tony Lochhead that could get this unlikely All White a trip to Johannesburg.

- © Fairfax NZ News