Aaron Cruden's rehabilitation race to get fit in time for the start of the Super 15 curtailed his time with the kicking tee, although the 23-year-old Chiefs first-five expects the wobbles that blighted an otherwise strong game against the Crusaders to disappear in the next few weeks.
Cruden missed
a couple of kicks from gimme range last Friday in Napier but is confident of turning that around with more time on the practise range.
"I was really happy pre-injury at the World Cup with how things were going after spending a lot of time getting my kicking right," Cruden said. He missed selection in the World Cup squad, with Colin Slade preferred as Daniel Carter's understudy, but played a starring role in the semifinal win against Australia when those two players limped out of the tournament.
Aaron Cruden. Photo: John Borren
In the final Cruden hyper-extended his knee in the first half and had to battle to be fit in time for the start of the Super 15. He is still icing the knee heavily. "With the injury I haven't been able to put as much work into my kicking as I would have liked. I missed a few on the weekend, that's going to happen, but it's slowly coming back and it's a matter of me trusting my technique and going through the systems."
Cruden this week re-signed with the franchise through to 2014 after switching from the Hurricanes in the off-season.
Instructions to his agent were clear - he's settled in Hamilton and is enjoying his footie so get a deal done. "I told him if there's an offer be sure to take it and put pen to paper quickly. Negotiations are on the backburner now and I can focus fully on the footie."
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie brought Cruden with him from Manawatu to Hamilton and rates his pivot at the very top of the pack chasing Dan Carter, albeit with a few kinks in his game still to be ironed out.
"He's got some strides to make yet. Aaron's a bloody good player, fantastic with ball in hand, brave and good at making space for others. His goalkicking is coming on but the area he wants to focus on is controlling a game with his boot. We know he can do it ball in hand really well but that's an area of his game he is trying to grow."
With first-fives Gareth Anscombe and Tyler Bleyendaal starting to blossom on the bigger stage, Rennie still backs his boy as the one to keep the heat on Carter.
"There's a couple of young guys coming through and they're all guys who have come out of the (national) 20s programme so I know them all really well. But I still rate the guy we've got here at the top."
Cruden, who will get his first taste of playing at Baypark Stadium tonight against the Brumbies, said Rennie's worth as a coach was starting to fully emerge after the Chiefs' two win/one loss start to the season.
"It's great to see how Dave's evolving and coming up with a few new tricks, and with Wayne Smith, Andrew Strawbridge and Tom Coventry involved too they're working well off each other. It's good to have that many coaches so it's not the same guy barking the same things at you all the time."
Investec Super Rugby Chiefs vs Brumbies
When: Friday, March 16, 7.35pm
Where: Baypark Stadium
Gates open: 5.50pm
Where to buy tickets: Online at http://www.ticketdirect.co.nz/Event/Details/51317; Warehouse stores in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Rotorua, Whakatane and Thames; Baypark TECT Arena (Mon-Fri 12-4pm); Baycourt, Tauranga.