Aaron Cruden will be hoping to make a mark on this season's Air New Zealand Cup © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

Features: It's the taking part that counts

News: Wilkinson and Carter back in action

News: NZRU unveil domestic rugby re-vamp

News: New Zealand retain title in running display

Tournaments/Tours: Air New Zealand Cup

Teams: Manawatu | New Zealand

All eyes will be on Manawatu fly-half Aaron Cruden as he kicks off his Air New Zealand Cup campaign against Counties Manukau this weekend, the promising youngster having already been tipped for All Black honours after captaining New Zealand's Under-20s to the World Championship earlier this season.

Cruden's debut is all the more significant after he was forced to withdraw from Manawatu's squad last season due to a bout of testicular cancer, the pivot's career jeopardised before he completed a remarkable recovery.

The All Blacks have struggled to find an answer at fly-half in the absence of Dan Carter, who will likely play some part in Canterbury's opener against North Harbour on Saturday after recovering from a ruptured Achilles, with Stephen Donald and Luke McAlister having shared the role so far this season with varying degrees of success.

This fact has seen Cruden's name linked with their northern hemisphere tour in November, although Manawatu coach Dave Rennie maintained that he was focused on his provincial duties and was still too green for All Black recognition.

"He's obviously got a fair bit of a profile recently because of the Junior World Cup, but we've had the luxury of seeing him play for the last few years," Rennie said. He's a level-headed kid and he's not easily satisfied, so he's working hard. He's put the World Cup to bed and his focus now is having a good NPC.

"He's a good boy and, playing at 10, his job's to run the ship, so he'll certainly be key for us. He's not ready at this stage to play for the All Blacks, and it wouldn't be in his best interests. But certainly he has attributes that make him an outstanding 10 and he's shown glimpses last year with us, before he got crook, that he can play at this level," he said. "He's certainly shown that from an international Under-20s point of view, so really his focus is to recreate that form at a higher level.

"Obviously if he has a good NPC, then there may be an opportunity to play a bit of Super 14 and so on. There're quite a few steps to go before All Blacks."

Despite his reservations, Rennie admitted that it would not be a complete shock to see Cruden elevated should he perform well in a Manawatu shirt.

"Current players like Joe Rokocoko, (Isaia) Toeava, Conrad Smith - they all played for the All Blacks before they played Super 14, so there are opportunities there," Rennie said. "In the end I guess it depends how he goes in the NPC.

"It's not uncommon for the All Blacks to take guys straight out of the NPC, but I think with Aaron needs to prove himself at Air New Zealand Cup level before he starts worrying about anything higher than that."