Four months ago, Sam Cane was struggling to get onto the substitutes bench for his Chiefs Super Rugby team.
On Saturday, the 20-year-old openside flanker was so effective for the All Blacks in their 60-0 romp against Ireland that the coaching team might be wondering if they can get him and Richie McCaw on the field at the same time more often.
Cane has been earmarked as a potential All Black since beginning to shine as a teenager but, even so, his rise has been remarkable this year.
“It’s happened quickly but, every time I go out, I’m just trying to put on a quality performance and do the basics well,” he said.
“I love these big occasions, the times when you’ve got to step up. I guess I’m trying to embrace it and not let it burden me as such.”
Cane and McCaw played in Saturday’s 60-0 romp over Ireland following the injury to No.8 Kieran Read and they worked well together, forcing a number of breakdown turnovers between them.
“If one of us was trying to tackle, the other would try to bide them a bit of time by taking out their support … we’ve just got to read each other,” Cane said of his partnership with McCaw.
Cane paid tribute to his tight forwards, saying their domination of their Irish counterparts made his job much easier.
“When we’re getting go-forward right from the set piece, it allows those guys like Sonny Bill Williams to get over the gain line and then, as loose forwards, we can go forward ourselves.”
Cane’s Chiefs captain Liam Messam, who enjoyed his chance to start at blindside flanker, said his young teammate was inspiring.
“Sammy was awesome tonight. He’ll take a lot of confidence out of that. It’s good for New Zealand rugby.”