Wood supersedes Reid as main man for All Whites

Thank goodness for Chris Wood. He has surely become the most important All White of his generation, akin to a Richie McCaw, Simon Mannering or Kane Williamson.

After a series of withdrawals and omissions from the team to face the Solomons Islands, coupled with the shock dismissal of defender Dane Ingham for fitness reasons, Wood’s presence gives a degree of comfort to teammates and fans.

Wood completed his first training with the team yesterday, after arriving from England on Tuesday, following his remarkable Premier League debut for Burnley on Monday, when he scored a 92nd-minute equaliser against Tottenham.

He’ll be jet lagged, but that won’t matter. Since his debut eight years ago, Wood has never shirked his national commitments. The only significant occasion he has missed was the 2016 Oceania Nations Cup final, when he was given permission to attend his sister’s wedding. Otherwise he has always been available, which has allowed him to accumulate 52 games by the age of 25, a remarkable run given the team’s infrequent schedule.

That’s why he has probably surpassed Winston Reid. The West Ham centre back has achieved much more but his luckless run with injuries means his time wearing the silver fern has been fleeting. The team will miss Reid, Tommy Smith, Marco Rojas and Shane Smeltz (injured) over the next six days, while the midfield looks thin without Clayton Lewis and Bill Tuiloma (not selected). But if Wood was missing for these matches, or especially the expected playoff in November with a South American team, that would leave supporters holding their breath. He leads the line with a physical presence, has a crisp shot off both feet, strong aerial ability and has developed into a capable skipper. But most importantly, he provides goals. Since the start of this World Cup cycle in 2014, Wood has scored 40 per cent of the All Whites’ goals in international matches. And it’s not just the quantity, but the quality. He grabbed the winner against Oman for a rare win over an Asian side and the equaliser against China in 2014. He got the decisive strike in the 2016 Nations Cup semifinal, the goal that sealed the away tie against Fiji in March and netted against Mexico at the Confederations Cup. Wood has gone to a new level since the beginning of last season, when former Leeds manager Garry Monk helped him develop more of a killer instinct in front of goal. He responded with 30 goals for Leeds — only the fifth player in the club’s history to top the 30-goal mark — and has carried that belief into this season, demonstrated by his cool finish at Wembley. “In camp, we rely on him a lot, every camp, every window, he’s our main player,” said All Whites defender Andrew Durante. “He’s the stand-in captain when Winston is not around and he’s a great player to have and we need him scoring goals. Hopefully he brings his form with him and bangs in a few [on] Friday night.” The All Whites have their final training run today, ahead of Friday night’s match kicking off at 7.30pm.