Lomu wins his place

Jonah Lomu was yesterday named to start on the left wing for New Zealand's opening World Cup match against Tonga on Sunday at Ashton Gate, Bristol.

Lomu, the sensation of the 1995 tournament, has been troubled by a kidney infection that caused his weight to balloon and reduced his strength, but has returned to top form in recent months.

His reappearance follows a series of Tri Nations outings as a replacement and means a three-quarter reshuffle as Christian Cullen moves from the wing to the centre. Daryl Gibson drops out.

"We've seen a real turnaround in Jonah in the last few weeks," said coach John Hart. "He's as fit as I've ever seen him and the time is right for him to start."

Lomu has not featured in an All Blacks starting line-up for more than a year, so is ready to take his chance.

"It feels pretty strange - in fact, it feels like I am making my All Blacks debut all over again," said Lomu, who took centre stage at New Zealand's hotel last night.

"I am really pleased to have this chance, and now I don't want to let anyone down by putting in a bad performance. I am determined to concentrate on my game, and do justice to the All Blacks jersey.

"My objective is to go for the whole 80 minutes in what is going to be a tough match. There will be no love lost out there, and all the players know that we can afford no hiccups against Tonga.

"I am not looking as far ahead as the England game. That will come next week, when the whole selection process starts again."

New Zealand have made one other change from the side beaten by Australia in the Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney last month with Reuben Thorne replacing flanker Dylan Mika.

Flanker Josh Kronfeld is included after apparently recovering from a groin injury that saw Andrew Blowers put on standby.

"Josh is 100 per cent - he trained freely today and he'll be fine for Sunday," said Hart, who said he expected Tonga to be "very competitive".

Hart said he was excited about fielding Cullen in the midfield berth that he filled on occasions earlier this year.

"I think that Christian's versatility is good for us - I think he can play from any position, and I am convinced that he has the pace to play in midfield."

In Dublin, meanwhile, niggling injuries to winger Jason Little and reserve prop Patricio Noriega are causing concern to the Australian team ahead of their World Cup opener against Romania in Belfast on Sunday.

Little was ruled out of Wednesday's training session with a back strain, while Noriega headed back to the team hotel midway through the session with a pinched nerve in his shoulder.

Officials are optimistic both will be fit for the Belfast match, but coach Rod Macqueen said the injuries were being taken seriously.

"There's concern about Jason's back for this game," Macqueen said. "He has a bit of a sore disc. He'd been training well all week and then it just came about today. The medical staff rested him from training as a precaution.