Kieran Read called him the man with ice in his veins and Aaron Cruden didn't dispel that suggestion after his team's epic test comeback when asked if that kick was the most important in his life.
His answer? "I'd say so, yep."
The Irish, who had charged an earlier conversion
too early, hadn't learned their lesson and allowed him another chance when his first effort drifted to the right. Almost inevitably, the second dropped neatly over.
"I suppose I was lucky the second one went through the posts," he said. Luck had little to do with it. He got his chance to start this test after Dan Carter's Achilles injury suffered last week at Twickenham and Cruden has come so far there is barely a murmur if Carter is unavailable.
Having played such an important role with the Chiefs over the past two seasons, that poise is being transferred to the test arena and the All Blacks are benefiting hugely.
