But what he'll be wondering, with good reason, is when? What Barrett has the chance to do this morning is remedy a few critical areas of his game that weren't bang-on when he started against Argentina in Napier.
In Barrett's only start in the No10 jersey to date, he was an intriguing mix of good and not so good. Intriguing because the good was in areas most players get found out. His awareness, speed and agility to set up Liam Messam's try were outstanding, as was his timing and skill to put away Julian Savea.
What impressed most was his seamless ability to shrug off mistakes and keep his head in the game. Young first-fives are notorious for imploding mentally when the game doesn't go their way early but Barrett has that priceless ability to take whatever comes and deal with it.
What surprised the coaching staff a little was Barrett's struggles with some core roles. His goal-kicking was poor. His occasional technical flaw of not staying over the ball all the way was permanent on the night and he nailed only one from five. His kickoffs were also tentative and not quite where they needed to be, and these things matter. The All Blacks' game is built on core-role excellence.
Even in this day and age of hyper-analysis and multi-layered game plans, it's the All Blacks' command of the basics that separates them from the pack.
There's no point in having a flashy awning if the walls of the house haven't been put up properly and it was interesting that, after the Napier test, Hansen was carefully balanced in his assessment of Barrett.
"It was a great game for him," he said. "He's going to learn a lot from it - his first start in the No10 jersey and not the greatest conditions to be playing in. When Beauden sits down and goes through his game on his own and then goes through it with Fozzy [assistant coach Ian Foster], there will be plenty to talk about. A lot of it will be positive and some will be negative. He'll learn a lot from it."
The Napier test conversely highlighted Barrett's potential to be a special player and also how far he's behind Cruden as a starting No 10.
Having endured his own drama when he first started a test in August 2010, Cruden knows the only remedy is time in the saddle. From being almost out of his depth that night in Sydney, Cruden gave a commanding performance in Cardiff two years later that eradicated all doubts about his ability. The conversion from lamb to lion didn't take long - that test in Cardiff was only the eighth start of his career and that's what he'll find so painful about this weekend.
He's given Barrett two fast tracks on which to make an impact and take giant strides towards convincing the selectors they should be willing to see him in a wider capacity than impact player off the bench.
If Barrett can nail those core skills this morning without compromising his instinctive game, then it might not change the pecking order but will make the decision on whether to start Cruden or Barrett harder.
