Contrite Aaron Cruden risks his first class ticket to World Cup
Night out boozing hands Beauden Barrett chance to take over All Blacks fly-half role
If All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden had a thumping headache on the morning he missed his flight to Argentina, it might be set for a prolonged return if his rival Beauden Barrett dominates in the final two matches of the Rugby Championship.
What he’s done the last three or four years far overshadows one bad judgment. But there are consequences and they are immediate consequences
Missing a flight after a big night out may be dismissed as a silly act by an average 25-year-old. That an All Black player might give up his spot in the most competitive team in world rugby to a player of Barrett’s calibre is something else altogether.
"I don’t think this will count against him [Cruden] long term," former All Blacks’ fly-half Andrew Mehrtens wrote in his column for Fairfax Media.
"What he’s done the last three or four years far overshadows one bad judgment. But there are consequences and they are immediate consequences.
"The upshot is he has given another guy a chance. They do say sometimes it’s harder to get out of the All Blacks than it is to get in, and giving Barrett two starts means if he does deliver it’s going to be pretty hard not to pick him afterwards.
"That’s the danger Cruden now faces."
Cruden started in six of the All Blacks’ seven tests this year, burnishing his standing as Daniel Carter’s first stand-in man come next year’s World Cup in England.
But Barrett, who many New Zealand pundits rate a more versatile prospect, did little wrong in his one start against Argentina, barring a wayward kicking game.