Aaron Cruden to replace Dan Carter for 1st test against French ?

There’s a reason the All Blacks are not sweating bullets over the likelihood of Dan Carter missing Saturday’s test season opener against the French.

His name is Aaron Cruden.

The 24-year-old Chiefs first five-eighth is all but a certainty to start in the No 10 jersey on Saturday night at Eden Park, with a no-risk policy set to be taken with both of the doubtful inside backs.

Carter has a slight fracture in his right hand and he was still experiencing swelling today as the team had its first training-field hitout in the rain at Waitakere’s Trusts Stadium.

And veteran halfback Piri Weepu is being kept away from contact work until he completes an array of post-concussion tests after being knocked out cold in Dunedin on Saturday night.

Assistant coach Ian Foster wasn’t prepared to provide any definitive calls at this stage of the week on Carter, but indicated no chances would be taken with the man widely considered the best No 10 in the game.

“It’s going to have to be 100 per cent right for us to put him out there,” said Foster today.

“So it’s looking unlikely at this stage.”

That will leave the path clear for Cruden to step up and make just his ninth start in what will be his 21st test. Clearly it’s a situation that the All Blacks coaches are now more than comfortable with, given the recent growth in the all-round game of the Chiefs playmaker.

“We’ve seen a lot in the last two to three years really,” Foster said.

“Whenever he’s played for the All Blacks he’s played well. But I think we’ve seen him really grow over the last year, particularly in that Wales test (last November). He really cemented himself we thought as an international 10 in that game.

“He’s got a control part to his game now and he’s obviously got the running part, and this year [in Super Rugby] he’s just carried that form on.”

There’s a touch of symmetry too about Cruden getting the shot at the French through an injury to Carter, after the little five-eighth had to step into those same boots for the business end of the World Cup in 2011, and made a decent fist of the job.

Weepu appears to have made a full recovery after being left supine on the Forsyth Barr Stadium turf following an accidental knee to the head from Highlanders No 8 Mose Tuiali’i.

“He’s remarkably well, and the medicos are very happy with him,” Foster said.

“He was on light duties today but he’s very clear-headed and witty as normal.”

Again, expect the All Blacks to play it safe with Weepu, given the increased focus on head knocks in the game. With two such capable halfbacks as Aaron Smith and Tawera Kerr-Barlow standing by, it doesn’t make sense for them to handle Weepu with anything but kid gloves this week.

Despite miserable conditions in Auckland today, Foster said it had still been a valuable session – boosted by a handful of Blues players called in – as they made the first significant steps in a week almost exclusively internally focused.

“It was actually a good session for us,” he said.

“We’ve had a few indoor sessions at the camps and it was great getting out on the park. Obviously conditions weren’t ideal but we’d rather train in this and play in fine weather than the other way round.”

And it was good to get the squad’s six new All Blacks finally into stride.

“It’s pretty special when you actually get out there and do stuff. You can only do so much planning behind the scenes,” Foster added.

“There’s a lot of ‘what am I doing?’ rather than ‘how I do it?’ out there, so guys are busy thinking about their roles. But as we go through the week the intensity will go up and up.”

There was better news around the propping fraternity, with only veteran loosehead Tony Woodcock marked absent.

“They got through well, and the only one who wasn’t out there was Woody. His [nose] infection has knocked him back a little bit,” Foster said.

Woodcock is also a highly unlikely starter for Saturday, which would see Wyatt Crockett stepping into the No 1 jersey and both Ben Franks and Ben Afeaki needed for bench duty.

In terms of the French, Foster admitted the All Blacks were whistling in the dark a little.

“We’ve looked at them and we’re aware they’ve got some newness. But quite frankly we haven’t got too much time to think about them,” he said.

“This week is about us trying to get a game plan that we think we can at least complete.

“I guess for the second and third tests we can start to develop a little more opposition work.”

– © Fairfax NZ News