No Kiwi return for Jones

[DIEHARD]

New Zealand will resist the temptation to lure Stacey Jones back from France to play against Great Britain in their last group game of the Gillette Tri-Nations Series on Saturday.

The Kiwis, who need to avoid a heavy defeat at Huddersfield to secure their place in the final, are looking for a third-choice scrum-half following the loss of Lance Hohaia, who was earmarked for the number seven jersey until tearing ankle ligaments in Sunday?s 30-22 win over England.

The 29-year-old Jones, who was outstanding in New Zealand?s opening three matches, is currently training with Super League newcomers Les Catalans and is due to fly back to Auckland to attend the birth of his second child two days before the November 26 final.

The Kiwis, who are now down to 21 players, also have the option of calling former Bradford stalwart Robbie Paul into their Tri-Nations squad after his cameo performance against England, but coach Brian McClennan will first try out the different permutations open to him among his current resources.

Hull?s utility man Motu Tony, who was on the wing in the Challenge Cup final and played at hooker in the Kiwis? 42-26 win over Great Britain at Loftus Road, is favourite to take over the number seven jersey, with David Faiumu and Louis Anderson both able to fill in at hooker.

?Stacey is in France and he?s flying back home in the week of the final,? said McClennan. ?I haven?t rung him.

?We?re toying with a few options at training. We?ll see what works and hopefully we can get by. Fortunately, we?ve got guys who had a good hit-out against England, even though we lost Lance.

?Louis can play dummy-half which frees up Mots and David Faiumu, who came through the ranks at half-back, so we?re not as poor in the halves as people may think.

?We are pleased with the way Mots has come on. He was very fortunate to play on the wing in Hull?s great win in the Challenge Cup final but he relishes being involved in the action in the middle of the park.?

Whatever McClennan decides, he is likely to keep Great Britain guessing once more by delaying his team announcement until the last possible moment.

That means a 19-man squad on Friday morning, with the actual line-up kept under wraps until an hour before kick-off.

?We?ve learned quickly over here,? he said. ?When in Rome, do as the Romans do.?

McClennan does not expect his counterpart Brian Noble to make many changes from the side which lost 20-6 to Australia.

?I think they will stay fairly close to the side that played against Australia,? he said. ?They weren?t far off.?

Source: Rugby Super League - http://www.superleague.co.uk

[DIEHARD]

I still think there is a 20% chance that Jones will play in the final.

The Kiwis won't be able to match the Kangaroos without Jones.

I guess we will just have to see how the Kiwis go against Great Britain and Ireland this Sunday.