The All Blacks coach Graham Henry has backed the under-fire first-five Stephen Donald after the playmaker's Bledisloe Cup shocker in the 26-24 loss to the Wallabies in Hong Kong on Saturday night.
Donald missed a penalty in the dying stages of the match that would have given the men in black a crucial eight-point lead then missed a kick to touch with 30 seconds left which arguably led to the Wallabies game stealing try on the stroke of full-time.
Many are baying for the Waikato pivot's blood after another limp performance at Test match level but Henry is confident Donald will bounce back from the loss and repay the faith shown in him by the All Blacks selectors.
Henry points out how the "fella before him" copped some criticism and it's just the nature of some of the New Zealand people.
Meanwhile winger Cory Jane will miss the All Blacks clash with England at Twickenham on Sunday morning with bruised ribs but no replacement will be called into the squad despite the All Blacks having just two specialist wingers at their disposal after Sitiveni Sivivatu was ruled out of the tour with a knee injury.
