Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Aaron Cruden homecoming complete for 2020 Super Rugby season

Aaron Cruden is said to be poised for an early move away from Montpellier. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

After a few years in the wilderness, Aaron Cruden has come back home.

The 50-test All Blacks first five-eighth has signed on for another stint with the Chiefs, signing with the club on a one-year deal.

Cruden, 30, returns to the club from French side Montpelier, having already played in more than 80 matches for the Hamilton club between 2012 and 2017.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B12YF_zAfZM/

ADVERTISEMENT

The team’s new head coach Warren Gatland said he was excited to welcome Cruden back.

“As a player, he has a proven ability to create opportunities with his boot and can spark up an attack from anywhere on the park. We are fortunate and privileged to have him return and I will look forward to coaching him in the coming season.”

Cruden’s signing likely signals the end of the Chiefs’ No 10 experiment, with Damian McKenzie set to return to fullback.

Cruden returns with fond memories of the club, and was a key director of their back-to-back Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013.

Video Spacer

His was the second major signing announced by a New Zealand franchise for the upcoming Super Rugby season, with English representative centre Joe Marchant agreeing to join the Blues.

Marchant joins the Auckland club on a sabbatical from parent club Harlequins, and was expected to help fill the gaping hole in the side’s lineup left by the departures of Ma’a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams.

This article first appeared on the NZ Herald and is republished with permission here. 

Sonny Bill Williams joins Toronto Wolfpack:

Video Spacer

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

F
Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

4 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline? Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline?
Search