Caleb Clarke's standout performance against the Wallabies at Eden Park has been met with a measured response from All Blacks head coach Ian Foster, who is clearly keen for the left wing to retain his
Bledisloe Cup rugby: Inside All Blacks rookie Caleb Clarke's 'special' day
Clarke, described as a "handful" by Wallabies coach Dave Rennie, said he was just as nervous as he was last weekend in Wellington when he came on for the final 11 minutes of the 16-16 draw.
"I was still nervous – that was the funny thing," he said. "I had quite a broken sleep, with feelings of excitement and nervousness."
His teammates' advice helped, he said. "When you get the ball just run, you don't have to think about anything else. And when you're on defence, just tackle.
"Putting on the jersey on home soil at a place where I grew up, it was just very special," said Clarke, who added that the standing ovation from elements of the crowd as he limped off the field caused him to over-extend himself and attempt to run before he cramped up and regained his senses.
The performance of Clarke, the decisive and slippery Beauden Barrett and the pack in general were highlights for the All Blacks, with forwards coach John Plumtree admitting there was a "massive amount of pressure" on.
Skipper Sam Cane added: "I'm really proud of the result. I think our coaches and leaders were exceptional this week, right from the time of the final whistle last week until the end of this game.
"I'm just really happy with the last game on New Zealand soil for the year which sounds a little crazy considering it's only our second game of the year.
"It was just an awesome occasion out there; afternoon footy in the sun."
Foster said ahead of his team's departure for Australia and two further Bledisloe Cup tests, plus two against Argentina: "We knew we had to lift by our own standards. I thought we set a marker down about where we need to be as a team in terms of the mental side of the game – the physicality and speed of that.
"We know we're going to have to improve because they're a good team and we're going over there.
"This is a better Wallabies team than I've seen for a while. They want to stay in the fight and we had to fight for 80 minutes."