Briers to lead Wales out against New Zealand

The Great Britain manager, Phil Clarke, insisted that it was "absolutely 100 per cent definite'' that there had been no pressure on Cunningham to withdraw from that source. He added that Cunningham will be seeing the Great Britain medical team on Monday.

The appointment of Briers, club captain at Warrington, is logical, even though there have been rumblings about his attitude when he has been in the Great Britain squad in the past. "I can only go off what I've seen and in my time working with the Welsh team he's been fantastic,'' said Kelly.

A more thorny problem is what to do about the hooking role, although it looks likely that Ian Watson, who has done the job for them in the past, will be called upon again. Watson is normally a half-back at Salford, but has shown the ability to adapt in the past.

Kelly will not name the rest of his team until the day of the match. "I'm taking Keiron's absence as an opportunity to create a bit of uncertainty,'' he said.

There is no doubt, however, that Cunningham's withdrawal, still shrouded in some mystery since attempts to contact him have failed, greatly weakens the credibility of the Welsh team.

People would have come to the Millennium Stadium to see him, especially as his credentials include turning down a massive offer from the Welsh Rugby Union to stay in league.

At various times in the lead-up to the match, there has been loose talk about Iestyn Harris, Scott Gibbs and even Adrian Morley, qualified though the grandparent rule, turning out for Wales. Predictably, none of them will be on the field tomorrow. Instead, there will be a line-up of middle-ranking English-born players whose names do not resonate greatly in the principality.

If that bodes ill for the crowd at such a big stadium then at least Kelly can be relied upon to lift the performances of average players, just as he has with Widnes this year.

The game is also an opportunity for Hefin O'Hare to impress his fellow countrymen. The Wrexham-born winger was the leading try-scorer in the Northern Ford Premiership this year and is one player Huddersfield are relying upon to make the step-up to Super League next season.

The Kiwis, who have been arguing that the roof at the Millennium Stadium should be closed, whereas Wales want it open to the elements, are also delaying their team announcement, but they can be expected to feel something very close to their Test line-up.

New Zealand have their own hand injury victim, with Motu Tony due to go home this weekend with his arm in a cast, thus narrowing down coach Gary Freeman's options for the Tests.

This is not the only international this weekend. Today in Tripoli, the Australian-based Lebanon national side plays on ancestral soil for the first time against France. The Lebanese coach, John Elias, who credits his passion for rugby league and this project in particular with helping him recover from a life-threatening stomach cancer, says that Hazem El Masri, the winger who made his debut for Australia last month but still remains available for the Lebanon, has the potential to become a national hero.