Aaron Cruden feared he might never run out in an All Blacks jersey again after being dropped in September for missing a team flight after a night’s heavy drinking.
The fly-half, who played in the demolition of the USA last weekend on his return following a two-Test ban, will line up at Twickenham inside Sonny Bill Williams, who starts his second game since returning from rugby league in the new “blackest ever” New Zealand jersey.
Dan Carter will not play against England despite featuring against the USA, as he continues his recovery from injury.
Cruden was blunt when asked if he was worried he would never run out as a first choice again. “Absolutely. I think you’d be silly not to. That certainly was the case. You never know, putting yourself in a bit of jeopardy like that, what you could potentially lose,” said the 25-year-old, who will win his 37th cap.
“That was definitely at the forefront of my mind but it’s been dealt with now and we’re just looking to move on and push forward. We’ve got a great opportunity to do exactly that and I can’t wait.”
With less than a year until the All Blacks return to England for the World Cup, Cruden’s indiscretion – which the head coach, Steve Hansen, said at the time was out of character – was inopportunely timed.
“It’s pretty hard watching at home – the team you love playing for and the guys you love playing with, watching them on telly,” Cruden said. “That’s why last week I was so excited to be back in the mix and that excitement is going to grow this weekend, getting the opportunity to start in the No10 jersey again, which is a huge honour.”
To explain his return to the fold, Hansen returned to a familiar All Blacks trope. “Our team is like a family and if one of your family members mucks up you don’t stop loving them, you just don’t like what they did. So you address their behaviour and then you carry on. That’s what we’ve done,” he said. “It’s not a matter of having a clean slate or a dirty slate, it’s just a matter of being Aaron Cruden and being the person we expect you to be. And the person he expects to be. We’re well and truly over it.”
Cruden spoke of his excitement and enthusiasm at playing in the 74-6 demolition of the USA in Chicago but said he had not expected to be picked for the England Test despite the absence of Carter. “I wasn’t expecting to be named in the starting lineup. I guess you never really know until your name is read out,” he said. “I was sitting there a little bit unsure. To be named in the starting lineup is a huge honour, especially to take on the English here at Twickenham. It’s going to be a massive battle.”
It is one Williams will also relish. Hansen said the experience of playing the USA and then England would replicate the challenge the holders would face in 12 months’ time when the Rugby World Cup progresses from pool to knockout.
It is against that sharp step up in quality he also wants to gauge the return of Williams. “We saw what he was like against a tier-two nation, we want to see what he is like against a tier one. We haven’t got a lot of Tests between now and the World Cup, so we need to get some answers.”
Hansen paid tribute to Williams’s instincts and his ability to adapt and adjust between codes – and sports given his spell as a boxer. “It is a lot easier to go back a second time,” the head coach added, predicting Williams would be a better rugby union player than ever.
While none of his squad wanted to speculate about the tournament for which they will be returning to England, sticking resolutely to the “one game at a time” script, Hansen was less reticent. “It’s not far away, is it? You can just about reach out and touch it. You’ve got to start narrowing your focus and your planning,” he said.
“It’s not at the front of my mind but it’s certainly not at the back of it either. But we’ve got a job to do on Saturday that has got nothing to do with the World Cup.”
