The utility back played the final quarter of New Zealand's 19-31 Tri-Nations loss to the Springboks in Durban last weekend but the All Black selectors are anxious for him to get more game time ahead of the second Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney on August 22. Harbour kicked off their season with a surprise 22-19 win over champions Canterbury, featuring a returning Dan Carter, on Saturday.

"McAlister is class, we all know that, so this is good news," said Harbour coach Craig Dowd.

Guscott also dredges up Hartley's six-month ban for gouging incurred two seasons ago and questions his ability to scrap for 80 minutes.

"I raved about (Hartley) last year and predicted that he would be a regular starter for the England team," wrote Guscott. "But I was wrong again, and have had to revise my opinion. There is too much of the show pony about Hartley, and there is a suspicion he is not as hard as he would like us to think.

"But Jim Mallinder has obviously seen something in him that I cannot. He is more of a hit-and-run player than an 80-minute grafter, and you cannot get any lower than being an eye gouger."

His place at the Dragons has been taken by Matthew Watkins, the 19-times capped Wales centre joining on a two-year deal from Guinness Premiership side Gloucester.