Aaron Cruden, who wasn't even in the original World Cup team, but was called into the national side when the first two choice players were injured during the tournament.
Cruden Triumphs Adversity Again
It should not surprise anyone that first five-eighth Aaron Cruden had the mental and physical fortitude to guide the All Blacks into their first World Cup final in 16 years.
After all, Cruden has already taken on one of the biggest opponents the game of life can offer – testicular cancer.
He won on that occasion, barely out of his teens but showing a fighting spirit that would reveal itself to the world only two years later.
He was at it again in an icy-cool performance in the red-hot atmosphere of a semi-final against Australia in front of more than 60,000 expectant Eden Park fans.
Most 22-year-olds would not have been up to it.
But the time the final whistle blew, in a 20-6 victory, it had almost been forgotten that this precocious talent had been only the third-choice pivot for his country behind the injured Dan Carter and Colin Slade.
It was as if ice had been siphoned through his veins back in those frequent hospital visits to rid himself of the dreaded disease.
While they weren't apparent, Cruden said the nerves were 'definitely there' in the biggest Test of his life – at least in rugby terms.
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