Cruden eager to retain kicking duties

Editor

Chiefs number ten Aaron Cruden hopes to retain the goal-kicking duties for their clash with the Blues this Friday.

The Montpellier-bound fly-half endured an off day with the boot last week when the Chiefs fell to the Crusaders in Suva, with Cruden admitting he was frustrated with his performance off the tee.

"It was a bit of a bummer the way I kicked at the weekend, especially in such a crucial game," Cruden told NZ Newswire.

"Kickers have those sometimes and the rhythm wasn't quite there for me but I'll be putting in the work this week to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Cruden's success percentage for the season currently sits at 73 percent and the All Black is happy in general with his performance going for goal, having shared duties with Damian McKenzie this season.

"It's just one of those game-by-game situations but I've been happy with how my goalkicking has being going this year," Cruden added.

"I have pretty high standards and expectations of myself but I won't let it get me down. I've got a great skills coach here with Andrew Strawbridge and he will be helping me to get that rhythm back."

And Chiefs boss Dave Rennie was happy for Cruden to continue in the role, adding that he believes he is the best kicker the Chiefs have in their squad.

"We're fortunate we have a couple of good options but we believe Aaron is our best goalkicker," Rennie said.

"He didn't have a great night by his own admission with the boot but I thought he played superbly overall so we certainly won't let one game spook us."