We are witnessing the rebirth of Colin Slade.
The Crusaders' No10 has been the form first-five of the past few weeks of Super Rugby. So well has he played, in fact, that Steve Hansen and his brains trust could do worse than pencil him in to the All Black squad for the June series against England.
With Aaron Cruden's injury and the likely elevation of Beauden Barrett to the black No10 jersey, Slade shapes as an ideal man to bring off the bench, from where he can cover three positions. That may yet be dependent on what the selectors do with Israel Dagg, and therefore Ben Smith.
But this versatility of Slade catapulted him into the 2011 Rugby World Cup squad. Some people formed strong opinions about him based on a couple of irrelevant mistakes against Canada. Injury again struck in 2012. The guy has endured two broken jaws, a groin tear and a broken leg, all of which seems to have been held against him.
But here are the facts, in as much as one can say without stats to back them up: he punts better off his weaker (left) foot than anyone else in the country, and is also clearly the best passer off either hand of all the first-fives. They are underrated, underappreciated, and often unnoticed skills.
