Donald experiment just didn't work

Sometimes you have to be brave enough to make big decisions. Graham Henry did that last night in Hong Kong when he hooked Stephen Donald from the field in the fourth Bledisloe Cup clash.

It was the right decision. Donald will come again. But last night, the experiment of playing him in the No 10 jersey with Dan Carter in No 12 simply didn't work.

Donald's kicking game in the first half was not up to international standard.  His presence in the No 10 jersey was also tending to keep Carter out of the game.

Combined with the urgency, superior cohesion and physical presence at the breakdown of a well-prepared Wallaby team, the All Blacks were looking vulnerable at the halftime break.

With superior possession and territory stats, the All Blacks needed their key playmaker to command the ruck area - and that just wasn't happening with Donald. So Henry's hook came out.

Suddenly Carter was in the game more and the end result was a commendable win, giving us a 3-1 record over Australia this year.

The Wallabies clearly attacked Hosea Gear's wing with success but in the end the All Blacks overcame their rusty first half and set themselves up for the trip to Europe.

As an overall spectacle, it could have been better. Playing under a different set of ELVs wasn't helpful.  The most recent ELVs we in New Zealand have been playing under definitely makes for
superior spectator value.

• Grant Fox is a former All Black first five-eighths.

- © Fairfax NZ News