Patrick McKendry: Cruden will bounce back

Aaron Cruden is likely to have many chances to redeem himself on the playing field once he sits out his two-test suspension, writes McKendry. Photo / Getty Images

Going on a drinking session before a long-haul flight to Argentina was an extremely poor decision by Aaron Cruden, one that seems totally out of character, but it needn't define him.

Just like Israel Dagg and Cory Jane, who went out drinking during the 2011 World Cup in Auckland (it later transpired that sleeping pills were also involved), Cruden will bounce back from this.

He will have had it spelled out to him in no uncertain terms that his behaviour was unacceptable. The process he will go through to get back on the right side of the ledger as far as his teammates and coach Steve Hansen are concerned will be a painful one, and more on that later.

Both Dagg, who was injured at the time, and Jane had to go through it too and they were outstanding in the latter stages of the World Cup after their indiscretions.

Cruden is likely to have many chances to redeem himself on the playing field once he sits out his two-test suspension, which includes the test against the Springboks in Johannesburg which has the potential to be the highlight of this year's Rugby Championship.

And yet. In the meantime Beauden Barrett gets the opportunity to start two tests at first-five, beginning with Argentina at La Plata on Sunday. He will be overjoyed with the chance to showcase himself in the No10 jersey after getting a first taste of it against the Pumas in Napier recently, if not the circumstances by which it came.

The other thing is, as far as indiscretions go, this is a big one. Several senior teammates, including Kieran Read, were with Cruden at the time, at least early in the night, so this outing was obviously given the go-ahead, but the apparent heavy drinking obviously wasn't, and to miss a flight - and it wasn't an early-morning departure - is an extremely bad look. All Blacks are fined by their teammates for things like being late for the bus, so the forfeit for this one is anyone's guess.

Apart from Cruden, few will be more disappointed than Hansen, who knows the value of giving his players time away to let off steam. He doesn't keep them on a short leash - they are allowed to have a few drinks after tests in order to, as he describes it, get off the "rollercoaster" of the constant pressure they are subjected to.

Cruden, a member of the team's leadership group, will have to address his lapse in judgment with Hansen when he next sees him, as well as address the team as a whole in what is likely to be a difficult meeting for him. The pain of being left at home will be revisited when he eventually comes in from the cold.