KEY POINTS:
Sometimes circumstance requires boys to become men.
Tonight, for instance, 19-year-old Grayson Hart will be just an injury to starting halfback Taniela Moa away from inheriting the task of bossing Auckland around against a hostile Bay of Plenty side at Mt Maunganui.
It's a big ask for a
player whose exposure to top-level rugby extends to one Blues Development match against the Chiefs.
Quite what the young bloke with the famous name - John Hart is his uncle - makes of it all is anybody's guess as Auckland team management have shielded him from the media.
Assistant coach Shane Howarth, however, was happy to talk about the meteoric rise of the Grammar Carlton halfback, whose flashy skills he first spotted at a Blues academy training session.
"I watched him pass and I said to the academy manager, 'Gee, this guy's not too bad'.
"He's got a beautiful pass off the ground and he's pretty well put together physically. So I started watching him in Grammar [Carlton] games and I was bloody impressed. He's a strong, nuggety little halfback around the ruck area - he doesn't take a backward step."
Hart's big chance has come earlier than even Howarth would have hoped. Injuries to David Gibson, Brenton Helleur and most recently Steve Devine - and the departure of Chad Tuoro to Counties-Manukau - have catapulted Hart up the pecking order.
Howarth is confident he'll handle the step up.
"We're not exactly flush with halves in Auckland at the moment and with Steve [Devine] getting injured last week he's got his opportunity - I think he's buzzing about it.
"It is probably quite daunting for him to come in and be around all the boys and have to learn all our plays but he is getting there ... he is fitting in and the boys are looking after him."
Other than being asked to be a bit more vocal, Hart wouldn't receive any special instructions if he was called upon to shed his tracksuit tonight, Howarth said.
"The thing with these boys is they get picked for a reason.
"The higher the levels up you get the more you just need to concentrate on your game. That's the message we will give to Grayson: 'If you get on, do what you did to get picked in the first place. Don't change anything'.
"We probably didn't want to use him this early but circumstances have fallen that way. We've been in contact with John Hart to make sure things are all right and he is rapt with it. He is really pleased that Grayson is in there. It's up to Grayson to fit in and enjoy it."
