Cruden senses ‘special’ farewell

Aaron Cruden feels his final year with the Chiefs could be a special one.

The All Blacks first five-eighth marked his 100th Super Rugby match with a display that oozed class, as he orchestrated the Chiefs’ 41-26 victory over the 14-man Blues in Hamilton on Friday night.

As Chiefs captain, Cruden bossed his troops around the park with authority and style that reminded New Zealand Rugby fans what they’ll be missing when the 28-year-old heads to Montpellier in August.

Cruden kicked 11 points and his assured, accurate passes finished off three of the Chiefs’ six tries, with assists for Damian McKenzie, James Lowe and Anton LienertBrown fine examples of his clinical streak.

The Chiefs were buoyant and jumped for joy with every try, which Cruden believes is the kind of spirit that can propel them towards a third Super Rugby title.

‘‘We’ve got a great bunch of boys here. They work really hard and we feel like we’ve got the making of something [special] if we can continue to push each other,’’ Cruden said. ‘‘A title is always the end goal but there’s a lot of rugby to be played and there’s a lot of water under the bridge to go before that happens.’’

Cruden was calling the shots and defying his coach Dave Rennie’s wishes, in reacting to Steven Luatua’s red card for his late, swinging arm towards Tim NanaiWilliams’ head.

But he assessed the situation, turned down three points and kicked for the corner with the Blues a man down just before halftime. Hika Elliot’s try on the hooter justified that decision as the Chiefs extended their lead to 22-9, before three quick-fire tries after the break ended the contest.

Rennie, who brought Cruden to the Chiefs with him from Manawatu in 2012, knows he can leave the big calls with his on-field general.

‘‘As you know with Aaron, he’s really good at controlling the game,’’ Rennie said. ‘‘He bossed us around and got us in the right parts of the park and I thought his goalkicking was pretty sharp again.’’

Cruden and Rennie won backto-back titles in their first two seasons together with the Chiefs.

But Cruden never could have imagined winning 100 Super Rugby caps when he made his debut for the Hurricanes in 2010.

‘‘When you start off you never really think about how many games will come,’’ Cruden said.

‘‘You play one and hope there’s many more that follow. It’s a very nice achievement and to get a win tonight is pretty satisfying.’’