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<blockquote data-quote="Darwin" data-source="post: 418348" data-attributes="member: 24910">I too like the look of Barrett, though it is very difficult to judge how a player will go until they have had a few seasons of Super Rugby behind them: the likes of Dan Kirkpatrick, Stephen Brett, Trent Renata et al. were stars in age-grade rugby, but have failed to step up to the next level.&nbsp; I actually don&#039;t think Cruden is too far away from being world class; I&#039;ve been incredibly impressed with his improvement this season.&nbsp; Anyone who can go from arguably the worst NZ goal-kicker in the competition last year to (statistically at least) NZ&#039;s best goal-kicker this year (kicking at 80%) obviously works incredibly hard on their game.&nbsp; The length of his punting has also impressed at times this year.&nbsp; If he continues this sort of improvement I expect he will be a very good (if not world-class) All Blacks 10 within the next couple of years.I&#039;m not convinced at all by Anscombe; he has a great kicking game, but (as Nickdnz suggests) has never really shown any ability to run a backline (this includes his appearances for Auckland last year).&nbsp; He will certainly get a good chance at 10 for the Blues next year.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Darwin, post: 418348, member: 24910"] I too like the look of Barrett, though it is very difficult to judge how a player will go until they have had a few seasons of Super Rugby behind them: the likes of Dan Kirkpatrick, Stephen Brett, Trent Renata [I]et al.[/I] were stars in age-grade rugby, but have failed to step up to the next level. I actually don't think Cruden is too far away from being world class; I've been incredibly impressed with his improvement this season. Anyone who can go from arguably the worst NZ goal-kicker in the competition last year to (statistically at least) NZ's best goal-kicker this year (kicking at 80%) obviously works incredibly hard on their game. The length of his punting has also impressed at times this year. If he continues this sort of improvement I expect he will be a very good (if not world-class) All Blacks 10 within the next couple of years. I'm not convinced at all by Anscombe; he has a great kicking game, but (as Nickdnz suggests) has never really shown any ability to run a backline (this includes his appearances for Auckland last year). He will certainly get a good chance at 10 for the Blues next year. [/QUOTE]

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