IRELAND TOUR:AS A nephew of Joe Stanley and a cousin of Jeremy Stanley, both former All Blacks, you'd have thought it was in his blood and therefore his destiny. But the All Blacks' debutant inside centre against Ireland, Benson Stanley, admits he's been a little awe-struck by his elevation to the squad.

Clearly a bright lad, Stanley gave one of the more candid assessments of what it must be like for an uncapped player in any test squad, and certainly true of the rarified atmosphere that the All Blacks represent for any young New Zealand male, when admitting: “You’re not going to come into this sort of environment and feel comfortable. You’re playing for your country, you’re playing at the highest level there is and you’re getting ready for a test match.”

The 25-year-old also conceded that the nerves started last Thursday prior to attending his first All Blacks team meeting in Auckland. “I worked out (a route) by googling maps and so forth and had it all mapped out and even though it was about 20 minutes away I still left a couple of hours in advance, just to make sure,” he confides with a slightly self-deprecating smile.

However, his fellow players and the coaches do not appear to sense any hints of anxiety in the build-up to the game, and the Auckland captain’s composure has impressed Graham Henry. “His game understanding has been good and I think that’s what it’s about at this level. When you have game understanding that helps what you’re doing.

“He’s intelligent, he’s got good balance, he’s a young father and I think all of those things help when it comes to playing rugby at this level,” added an approving and almost paternal Henry. “So I think he’s got a balance in his life and an experience in his life which is going to help him play good rugby at this level.”

All that said and done, Stanley undoubtedly owes his selection to the absence of Ma’a Nonu, who is expected to recover from his knee injury and return to club rugby in about two weeks, thereby putting himself back in the frame for the Tri Nations.

Noted more for his big-hitting defence than his attacking game, Stanley is a left-footed, strong running centre who takes a good line and can bounce tackles, in the mould of uncle Joe, who was a key member of the All Blacks’ 1987 World Cup-winning team.

Although the two communicate, they do it in what is described as a very Stanley way, ie fairly low-key. “I speak to Joe and he texts me, and if I want to have a chat I can give him a call, that sort of way. It’s only casual, it’s nothing too intense. It’s not going to be ‘mate, this is what you’ve got to do and do this and prepare like this’. It’s not prescriptive, it’s just ‘all the best’ and ‘wish you luck’, and that’s all you can hope for.”

Stanley was actually born in New South Wales in Australia but moved to play his rugby in New Zealand. He also earned a Bachelor of Commerce before moving to concentrate on his rugby.

His season was written off completely in the Auckland Blues opening Super 14 game of 2009 when he tore his hamstring off the bone against the Western Force and was ruled out for the rest of the campaign, only returning to captain Auckland in the NPC.

Viewed in that light, his elevation into the All Blacks’ squad and now into their first test team of 2010 has been fairly rapid. “To me it has raced by, it has gone really quickly. It has been a good thing at the same time, the fact that you haven’t been able to stop and look around and reflect too much. It has just been full noise and transition straight into the team environment, straight into training. So it has been enjoyable and this weekend for me is rapidly approaching.”

By stark contrast to Stanley, new fullback Israel Dagg thought more about winning a Black Cap than an All Blacks jersey in his last year at college. A very talented fast bowler, Dagg won a national fast-bowling competition with the radar timing him at 143 km/h and he played under-age cricket for New Zealand. He was even encouraged by the Australian quick bowler Brett Lee to pursue a career in the game.

“That was kind of a leaning point towards cricket and I was going to but then Hawke’s Bay offered me a contract. I got picked for the Magpies while still at school and that turned the tables back toward playing rugby again. I just got stuck into the rugby, went hard at it and made a few teams.”

Although from Hawke’s Bay, he was smart enough to plot a different route into the upper ranks of New Zealand rugby by electing to play his Super 14 rugby with the Otago Highlanders, in part because Cory Jane held down the number 15 jersey with the Hurricanes.

Ironically, Jane again plays on the right wing in part to accommodate Dagg, who is rumoured to be considering a move to the Crusaders next season. At 6’ 2” and 105kg, Dagg is big and strong, but also quick with a deceptively languid running style.

He also kicks goals and had a 72 per cent success rate with the Highlanders this year.

Dagg idolised his room-mate this week Joe Rokocoko, who will be winning his 61st cap against Ireland alongside the newcomer. “I was telling Joe the other day that I remember when I was in fourth form, in my girlfriend’s house, and you were playing against Aussie in Aussie and you scored all those tries. And he said ‘stop trying to make me feel old’.”

The third new cap is 26-year-old Ben Franks, who will pack down along with his younger brother, 22-year-old Owen, something of a young Carl Hayman, freakishly strong, a monster in the gym and a great white hope of New Zealand rugby, in the All Blacks’ frontrow. Steve Hansen describes the two Franks as the most naturally strong props he has ever coached.

Curiously, as with Stanley, Ben Franks was also born in Australia, in his case Melbourne, though both brothers came through the Canterbury and New Zealand under-19 and 21 ranks.

The older Franks made his first appearance for the All Blacks in their epic win over Munster at Thomond Park in November 2008 before a stress fracture of the foot sidelined Franks for much of the 2009 Super 14. Franks is one of five Crusaders forwards in the pack, in part because they had the best scrum in the Super 14.