England’s policy of not considering players who are based outside the country has been challenged in recent weeks because of the impact made by Steffon Armitage at Toulon but there is one nation that has an even more aggressive stand on eligibility for Tests: Saturday’s opponents in Auckland, New Zealand. Once a player moves abroad, he is not available for the All Blacks, who believe that their jersey is more valuable than any contact millionaire owners in France can offer.
There are a few teams of New Zealanders playing in Europe and Japan but they tend to be divided into three camps: those whose Test careers are over, those who were capped but always on the fringes and those who never made it. Very few – the Toulon and former Newcastle prop Carl Hayman is one – left at their peak.
“As a kid growing up in New Zealand, you have a dream of pulling on the All Black jersey,” said the fly-half Aaron Cruden, who as Dan Carter’s understudy for the last four years could have been considered a target for Europe’s big spenders. “Its lure is so strong, greater than offers of hundreds of thousands of euros, and you understand just how hard you have to work to get it. It has been, and is, a massive drive for me and I appreciate where England are coming from. It is different for players nearing the end of their careers but for me it is all about playing for my country and the very healthy state of rugby here at all levels shows the Test policy is working.”
Cruden starts against England, with Carter on sabbatical, although he started more Tests than his rival last year and came off the bench after 26 minutes at Twickenham in November to kick eight points in a 30-22 victory after the illustrious No10, in his 100th cap, succumbed to a knee injury. The 25-year-old is winning his 30th cap and given the lack of sentiment New Zealand coaches have shown over the years, picking on form rather than reputation, this month’s three-Test series is opportune.
“I am someone who is really comfortable in his own skin,” said Cruden. “I understand my role in the team, whether it is sitting or coming off the bench. Dan is away now and it is up to me to make the most of his absence. One of the things about the All Blacks and a reason, I guess, why we have such a good record in Test rugby, is that there are always two or three players in every position pushing to get the jersey. If your standards slip, you are out and the competition keeps everyone on edge.”
England have been written off in New Zealand – and not only because they are below strength in the opening Test because of injuries and the late arrival of players from Northampton and Saracens, who were involved in last weekend’s Premiership final. The All Blacks second row Brodie Retallick may have been unable to correctly name a single member of the England squad at a media conference at the start of the week but Cruden is well-versed in the arts of his opposite number, Freddie Burns, and the fly-half on the bench, Danny Cipriani.
“I have watched a lot of Burns, who made his debut against us off the bench at Twickenham a couple of years ago,” said Cruden. “He is a very good attacking player, someone defences have to be wary of, while I played against Cipriani a few times when he was at Melbourne Rebels. He is unorthodox and hard to read and the fact that England are able to call on both of them, with other outside-halves missing, shows that while they will not be at full-strength in the first Test, they will be anything but weak. We are expecting a full-on Test match and a highly competitive series against one of the contenders for next year’s World Cup.”
England are the only team to have beaten the All Blacks in the last 34 months; at Twickenham in 2012 when Burns made his debut. They were leading in the final quarter last November and while history is in favour of the home side, who are looking for a world record 31st home Test victory in a row on a ground where they have never lost in the professional era, Cruden sounds a note of caution – and not only because the home side will be playing together for the first time since the last-minute victory over Ireland in Dublin in the autumn ensured they finished 2013 with a 100% record.
“We have been together as a squad for less than a week and there is always an element of rust and a feeling process ahead of the first Test of the year,” said Cruden, who started against an understrength France in New Zealand’s first Test last year, a spluttering 23-13 victory in Auckland. “A three-Test series against England is one of the biggest challenges you can get: there was a time when they were forward-oriented and not difficult to work out but those days are gone and they are now a side with threats all over, with players who have the X factor. I rate them very highly; they are without question going to be a threat in the World Cup and not just because they are the hosts.
“I think we have entered an exciting era in international rugby. A few years ago defences tended to be on top but teams have evolved their attacking games.
“England and South Africa are good examples of that and we know that while we may only have lost once since the last World Cup, we will not retain the trophy unless we keep improving and enhancing our game. The record we have spurs us on but all that matters is the future, not the past. We have to keep living up to the jersey and the next three weeks promise to be really exciting.”
Aaron Cruden was speaking on behalf of AIG, the official insurance partner of New Zealand Rugby. Join the conversation @AIGRugby
