Auditions for All Blacks’ World Cup playmaker continue in London this weekend.
It seems finding the lead role will be a complex process.
New Zealand coach Steve Hansen stirred some already muddy water by revealing Beauden Barrett remains marginally their No.1 five-eighth, even though they picked Aaron Cruden to start Saturday’s Test against England.
Dan Carter’s omission as he returns to full fitness leaves him almost certain to get a crack against Scotland a week later, leaving it anyone’s guess who will wear No.10 in the tour finale against Wales on November 22.
Asked if Barrett still had his “nose in front” of Cruden in the pecking order, as Hansen had said ahead of last month’s Test against Australia in Brisbane, the coach said he hadn’t changed his stance.
“He probably still has. They’ll probably play half a game each or pretty close to that,” he said.
“Bringing somebody on who can inject genuine pace and guile like Beauden does has been really really effective for us.”
He said the selection of Cruden to start was a gut feeling, with Barrett’s acceleration deemed a valuable late asset.
“At some point we’ll have to try it the other way around because the gut feeling might be wrong.”
Hansen says Cruden’s selection in his first major Test since his missed-flight demotion was nothing to do with the inclusion of his former Chiefs teammate Sonny Bill Williams at inside centre.
It also wasn’t based on goalkicking form, with Cruden having landed just four from nine shots against the United States last week.
Hansen was unconcerned about that ratio, believing Cruden will bounce back in a similar manner to Barrett last month.
He had a forgettable night with the boot against Argentina in Napier but responded with some accurate outings.
If goalkicking dictates the identity of New Zealand’s World Cup five-eighth, Carter will have the inside running.
The left-footer has a superior career strike rate to his two rivals, including landing his last 17 successive shots.
ALL BLACKS TEST GOALKICKING RADARS
Last 40 shots
Carter 32, Barrett 30, Cruden 27
Last 20 shots
Carter 18, Barrett 14, Cruden 12.
