All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke in action. Photo / Peter Meecham
All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke in action. Photo / Peter Meecham
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 uncomplicated approach to his game and life in general.
Clarke, on his starting test debut,was nearly unstoppable at times, and in particular during a weaving and highly destructive run out of his own half when he beat five would-be defenders on the way for Ardie Savea's crucial try after the break.
But Foster, while delighted to get the first All Blacks victory of his head coaching career, was at pains to lower expectations on a 21-year-old wing with a very big future.
Asked how good Clarke could get, Foster replied: "I'd probably rather you didn't paint that headline tomorrow, if you can. He's an uncomplicated individual, he's got great self-awareness of who he is, he knows what he's good at on a rugby park and he believes in it.
"He just wants the ball and he wants to run hard and it's quite a good thing for us to give him the ball and let him run hard. He's taken a challenge off the bench [last week] and done well and now he's started. I think the whole team will be thrilled for him, to be seeing him running around and enjoying what he's doing, and that's something we all need to be doing. I know he and his family will be all proud of his day."
All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke in action. Photo / Peter Meecham
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.
Father and son All Blacks Eroni and Caleb Clarke. Photo / Photosport
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."
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