Aaron Cruden gives verdict on New Zealand fly-half situation as James O’Connor raves about ‘most naturally gifted’ All Blacks prospect
Former All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden and ex-Wallabies playmaker James O'Connor.
Former All Blacks and Wallabies playmakers hailed the performance of young Crusaders 10 Taha Kemara at the weekend, with James O’Connor claiming the “world’s his oyster”.
The 21-year-old started their Super Rugby Pacific opener against the Hurricanes and shone as the Christchurch outfit claimed a 33-25 triumph.
Kemara played for almost an hour before ex-Wallabies star O’Connor came onto the field for the final stages of the contest.
His display left former All Blacks fly-half Aaron Cruden impressed, who felt the youngster very much did himself justice at the weekend.
‘Absolutely stoked’
“We know Taha personally, so I was absolutely stoked and excited for him to play the way that he did,” Cruden told Sport Nation’s Beaver & Guy show.
“I thought that he really helped to control that first 50-odd minutes in Christchurch and they were able to come away with a good win.”
O’Connor, who has seen first hand the ability Kemara possesses, was even more effusive with his praise for the talented playmaker.
“I would say he’s probably the most naturally gifted 10 I’ve played with. If he keeps working on his game, the world’s his oyster,” he told The Post.
“He’s definitely got it. Now it’s just a matter of nurturing it. If he keeps wanting to learn and keeps moving the way he is, I think he will be a great player.”
Kemara was not the only young 10 on show at the weekend as he faced off with 22-year-old Harry Godfrey.
And despite the Hurricanes being on the losing side, Cruden felt that Godfrey went about his business very effectively.
“Against him, young Harry Godfrey for the Hurricanes got an opportunity through injury and I was really impressed with him,” the ex-All Blacks star said.
“Although he didn’t probably light things up, I was probably watching him a little bit closer than others and I thought he had some really good impacts on the game.”
Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett battle
Much of the focus ahead of the opening round of Super Rugby Pacific was on the experienced duo Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie.
Both were surprisingly named at full-back for the Blues and Chiefs respectively, a decision which drew criticism from Beaver & Guy host Stephen Donald, but it did give a chance to Josh Jacomb.
The 23-year-old is another highly rated fly-half and appeared for the second-string All Blacks XV on their northern hemisphere tour late last year.
It could therefore be a big year for Jacomb at Cruden’s former franchise, a team the 50-capped playmaker starred for between 2012 and 2017.
“For our team, the Chiefs, Josh Jacomb got an opportunity and I was excited to see that as well,” Cruden added. “By all accounts he has had a really strong pre-season and I think he’s going to continue to get better and better.
“There’s a lot of young 10s coming through but there’s also some experienced ones out there as well.
“If those young guys can continue to learn their craft and ask some of those experienced guys the ropes, in and around game-management, I think they will continue to propel.”
