A no-nonsense practioner of the 'dark arts' of front-row play, Whitcombe is another of the men Graham Henry handed a debut to in the warm-up Test against Fiji in early June.

Born in Tasmania, the 25-year-old has been slated in as the third choice hooker behind Anton Oliver and Blues team-mate Keven Mealamu, offering Henry an 'in-between' option in terms of bulk.

Oliver, who misses the first Test, is the biggest of the No 2s in the squad and while Mealamu's mobile game is likely to be the one Henry goes with, Whitcombe offers him the chance to go for something approaching like-for-like.