All Blacks legend Grant Fox has urged New Zealand to believe in Aaron Cruden - and suggested the Manawatu first five-eighth will be "immune" from the pressure of semi-finals rugby.
Cruden played 47 minutes in the All Blacks' 33-10 quarter-final victory over Argenina on Sunday, replacing the injured Colin Sladeand slotting into the backline seamlessly.
Wallabies halfback Will Genia yesterday suggested the Australians would target Cruden in their semi-final match. But Fox told Radio Sport Cruden is more than capable of handling the occasion.
"We should have confidence that if he's the guy who is selected, and I'm pretty sure he will be, he'll make a good fist of it.
"I think, like with Colin Slade, we have to believe in this man. He will be entrusted with the job. He's a very talented young man and the guys around him just have to lift that little bit more."
Fox argued that being away from the team environment for the majority of the Rugby World Cup would have made Cruden "immune from the pressure".
"You just come in and you know you're under-done. You're not trying to cram too much in, you just get out there and trust yourself. He did really well [on Sunday] - his passing was crisp, as the game wore on he started to search for holes in the defence."
Fox said Cruden's tactical kicking game has improved and he has learned from past mistakes. His form for Manawatu was the result of hard work on getting rid of deficiencies in his game, Fox said.
"He's always been a good carrier of the ball, a clever challenger of defences. He's always been able to see what's in front of him well. He's got good hands in terms of distribution skills and he's becoming a better defender."
