All Blacks veterans Piri Weepu and Ma'a Nonu have backed Hurricanes prodigy Aaron Cruden to rise to the occasion in his first run-on Test against the Wallabies in Sydney this weekend.
The diminutive Cruden, who was instrumental in the Hurricanes' late charge towards the semi finals in his maiden Super 14 season, will fill in for injured superstar Dan Carter (ankle) at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
While the 21-year-old faces a tough initiation against a confident Wallabies side, the presence of regular team-mates Weepu, Nonu, Conrad Smith and Cory Jane in the backline will no doubt be a source of great confidence.
And the 'Canes contingent are only too willing to help.
"It's exciting for Azza to get a start," Nonu said.
"We've seen his progress over the last year and he's probably got the best guy to learn off this year with DC. I just hope he has a big one."
"It'll be exciting playing next to him at this level. For myself and Conrad it's more about making him feel more confident in himself. It's a bonus with Piri having a start as well."
Weepu added: "He was a bit shy at the start of the week and not too sure about some of the calls he was calling but me and Ma'a, the coaches and senior senior players got around him. Hopefully that's calmed his nerves.
"He's got some great guys to help him out. We want to make everything as easy as possible."
"He's realising how big it is to be involved in this team. Off the field, the analysis on individual players in the opposition and where their weaknesses are. It's more than putting on the jersey."
Coach Graham Henry is adamant Cruden, who has already made five appearances off the bench this season, will handle the pressure.
"Aaron's a very confident young man, he's a good footballer that's done well at the levels below," Henry said.
Meanwhile, Nonu was surprisingly complimentary towards Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper when asked if he plans to target the Kiwi-born No.10 in defence.
"I think he's a solid defender, he put a big shot on (Jean) de Villiers last week in the first minute," Nonu observed.
"He's a confident young man, we saw that when he played for the Reds, he almost took them to the semi-finals."
"I'm sure he's been practicing all aspects of his game, I can't see him shying away from tackling."
And Nonu expects Cooper, who has never played in a Bledisloe Cup encounter having missed the previous two matches this season through suspension, to ask several questions of his own in attack.
"It's a big job against Australia, they're a skilful backline that pull off good moves," he said.
"They can attack from wide. In the first half against South Africa they just played fast rugby. If you're on the back foot they'll break you open."