Jane's All Blacks selection to come out in wash

It's a dirty job but someone has to do it. As Toby Robson searches for clean clothes, he ponders an intriguing positional battle where the All Blacks are awash with options.

Rookie mistake. Three weeks into covering an All Blacks tour for the first time and suddenly clean clothes were as scarce as test tries.

Who would have thought the French shops close on a Monday?

Never mind, we're told there's a laundromat 10 minutes down the road. A 25-minute hike later the sleepy French village appears and there is not one, but three signs reading `presse'.

The guy at the magazine shop is not impressed by my supermarket plastic bag full of dirty clothes.

In Marseille, it seems `presse' is used to describe dry-cleaners and news outlets. Down the road the signs are more promising.

"Parlez-vous Anglais?"

"Non."

"Bugger!"

"Pardon?"

"Never mind. Washing? Com bien?"

The French lady's not impressed. She's tapping her watch in a `come back tomorrow' sort of way.

I'm desperate. No clean clothes. "S'il vous plait?"

Eventually she takes the bag in sympathy. It's unclear what she said or how much it's going to cost, but hopefully the washing will be there in two days.

It seemed a strange time to consider rugby, but it was hard not to think of All Blacks outside back Cory Jane as "laundry-gate" came to a close.

Eleven tests into his All Blacks career, the Wellingtonian has become one of the team's most reliable players.

Assured under the high ball, strong in the tackle, and a strong kicker, Jane should be a selection certainty.

This week though, it seems a tough decision is being pondered between Jane and rookie Zac Guildford.

Some have scotched the suggestion Guildford might start the final match of the tour after only two tests, but he has been preferred to Jane so far, playing the two biggest matches against Wales and England.

However, Marseille will be different. Pressure will mount in what will be a hostile atmosphere.

The point is Guildford might forget his laundry, but Jane will not.

"I'm much more comfortable. When I came in at the start of the year when we played the French I was new to the wing in internationals and I wasn't really getting involved – it was just the basics," Jane said yesterday.

"Now I'm a lot more comfortable and I'm looking to enjoy it a bit more rather than be a bit worried. I've calmed down a bit and I'm a bit more relaxed."

Jane also knows what to expect from the French and learned the lesson of complacency in Dunedin and Wellington early in the year.

"They will throw about 10 passes in a small space where other teams will throw a long pass. They are pretty good at putting guys in space.

"They did it in Wellington where I got beaten on the sideline and there was about three metres and they got a couple of quick passes."

On that occasion, Cedric Heymans scored a brilliant try that nearly cost the All Blacks the test.

Jane is hungry to add to his 11 tests and his sole try, refreshed after a week off and slightly peeved that he didn't play against England.

If he has a question mark on his credentials as a true test wing it is that he has just one try since his debut against Australia last year.

Then again the All Blacks have just five in four matches on tour and Guildford too is tryless.

Perhaps most in Jane's favour is that to drop the 26-year-old would send a mixed message to the squad: Play well, don't put a foot wrong, take your chances, and then be dropped for the biggest match of the year.

The media schedule doesn't always provide an accurate guide, but the odds are shortening for Jane to play the biggest match of his career at the Stade Velodrome.

The All Blacks team is named tomorrow.

- © Fairfax NZ News