The All Black first five Aaron Cruden says some morale-boosting words from Dan Carter has him ready to show his best in Saturday night's Tri-Nations match against Australia in Sydney.
Carter's ankle injury means 21-year-old Cruden will get his first run-on start at Sydney's Olympic stadium after five Tests off the bench.
But he says conversations with Carter have helped him relax.
Cruden says Carter told him to play his natural game and to hear that from him has given him a lot of confidence.
He says obviously he's not going to be Dan Carter, he's going to be Aaron Cruden and they're going to do things differently.
However Cruden thinks the game plan they've got doesn't change a lot from his natural game, and he's keen to get out there and show everyone his wares.
However he definitely expects Australia to target him defensively on Saturday.
The All Black team will be named tomorrow.
Hooker Keven Mealamu did not train yesterday because of a calf problem, but the team say he'll be fine later in the week.
