Aaron Cruden says the actions that have cost him his place in the New Zealand squad travelling to Argentina have left him ashamed and embarrassed.
Yet he will feel a lot worse if his late-night antics last weekend ultimately cost him a spot on the All Blacks’ plane to England for next year’s World Cup. He might acknowledge too, that he has let a massive opportunity slip to book his place on that flight.
Although Cruden has very much been the bridesmaid to the mercurial Dan Carter for much of his international career, it seemed he was finally stepping out of the shadows just at the right time.
Carter will be 33 by the time the World Cup kicks off, and is well into the autumn of his career, being picked predominantly at inside-centre for his Super Rugby side, the Crusaders last season. Carter has not played a single Test in 2014, the last of his 100 appearances coming against England last November and, while recovering from a broken leg, he has also had to listen to suggestions his All Blacks career could be over.
In his absence New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has shown his faith in Cruden, putting the Chiefs playmaker in an enviable position as the man in possession of the famous No10 jersey.
The 25-year-old has started seven of the last eight internationals, scoring 78 points as the All Blacks won all but one of those games – the other being last month’s draw with Australia.
A week after that relative disappointment against the Wallabies he scored 19 points as both he and his team answered their critics with an imposing 51-20 win. It was only the second time in his Test career that he had scored 19 or more points in a game, and just 12 months from the start of the World Cup, he was looking comfortable in the iconic shirt.
The two-week tour of Argentina and South Africa, therefore, offered Cruden the opportunity to truly cement his place in the team at a time when Carter is taking baby steps back into provincial rugby. Play well in these two games, particularly in the hostile surrounds of Ellis Park on October 4, and he may well have moved to the top of the pecking order, regardless of Carter’s fitness.
But now those hopes lay in tatters, and his actions have handed Beauden Barrett the perfect chance to showcase his own considerable abilities in the role. Barring injury it now looks like Barrett will get his chance in La Plata on Saturday.
Of the 23-year-old’s 23 Test caps, only three have come from the start and only one of those at fly-half. That was against Argentina too, in Napier, and although he endured a mixed night, missing four kicks at goal as the All Blacks toiled, he showed glimpses of quality and will be better for the experience.
Moreover, Barrett’s Super Rugby stats – 199 points in 20 appearances for the Hurricanes – appear to rubber stamp his ascension to his country’s first XV.
Should he take his opportunity then Cruden’s misery will be compounded. And while his transgression was out of character, as he watches on he will only have himself to blame.
Cruden has seen how late nights can impact professional careers, with his contemporary, Zac Guildford, now exiled in France following a string of misdemeanours.
He should be careful not to follow his former All Blacks colleague down the road to international ruin.
