Naholo has coach's faith
The wing was a surprise inclusion in the All Blacks' 31-man squad after he seemed doubtful after suffering a small fracture in his fibula bone during his debut against Argentina six weeks ago.
"What are the rewards of taking Waisake? Well, he is a try-scoring machine, he has X-factor and he brings something to the team that others in the group don't bring," Hansen told stuff.co.nz.
"We can't win this World Cup by just having the ordinary, we have got to have something different and he provides that.
"We just feel Waisake has played better throughout the year."
Naholo left for his homeland of Fiji in July for traditional medical treatment to keep his World Cup hopes alive and it seemed to have work after he was chosen in place of veterans Israel Dagg and Cory Jane.
"I am not sure if that made a difference or not," Hansen said in reference to the Fiji treatment. "But we just stayed with our plan. He is still on track – in fact he is probably 10 days ahead of what we initially thought."
Asked about the treatment in Fiji, Naholo, having said he had also placed his trust in the All Blacks' medical staff, said: "They are all the same, they all helped.
"It was just massage and some traditional leaves that they used [in Fiji]."
Hansen said Dagg and Jane's exclusion from the squad was a mixture of their season hampering injuries and Naholo's form.
"Israel and Cory have been really hampered this year by injuries have probably missed out because we think Waisake is a better footballer," Hansen explained.
They were not the only ones to be left disappointed with flyhalf Lima Sopoaga, outside back Charles Piutau and lock Jeremy Thrush also being unlucky after some good performances this season.
It was Dan Carter's performance in the Bledisloe Cup match in Auckland that probably sounded the death knell for Sopoaga.
"The guy that was probably under the most pressure at the point (after the Jo'burg test) was probably Dan. And he has come out and said 'okay I can do the job, too'," said Hansen.
Source: stuff.co.nz
