KEY POINTS:
It's peculiar seeing someone reach the summit of their personal Everest only to glance at the view and move on without taking the time to savour the glory.
But that is what Luke McAlister has chosen to do, having finally established himself as a starting All Black just
five games before he leaves for Sale.
No one will be more perplexed by McAlister's indifference to his crowning moment than the All Black selectors, who know what was involved in scaling the heights.
Whatever is achieved at the end of Graham Henry's tenure the successful conversion of McAlister from a precocious 21-year-old into a world-class test player will sit as one of the highlights.
Some of this coaching panel's selection hunches and development projects have gone off piste at times. Isaia Toeava was thrown in at the deep end and, for one troubled season, looked as if he was going to sink. Chris Masoe made an instant impact after coming out of nowhere only to appear a little overwhelmed later by the step up.
McAlister, though, has been the model case study, travelling smoothly along his development curve without a hitch. Softly, softly, catchy monkey was the routine and now, at precisely the right time, McAlister is dancing like a circus bear.
Seeing him look so at home in the All Black midfield, it's hard to remember that it wasn't so long ago McAlister was being wrapped in cotton wool and eased into the system to avoid any crash in confidence.
He was first selected as an All Black for the end of year tour in 2004. Except he and Jerome Kaino were explicitly brought along for the experience. They were there to learn the team culture and patterns and to play in the non-cap game against the Barbarians.
Unfortunately, McAlister's hamstring tweaked early in the tour and he never played. Still, he was in Europe for three weeks, living the dream and lapping it all up.
An injury to Daniel Carter ruled him out of the final Lions test in 2005 Tri Nations and gave McAlister his first opportunity to wear the All Black No 10 jersey. He was a mixed bag on debut - a real threat when he attacked the ball flat on the advantage line but guilty of making too many high-risk offensive kicks.
When Carter returned only to break his leg in Sydney the door opened again. But this time Leon MacDonald was initially preferred at first five-eighths, partly to see if he was a genuine option in the role and partly to avoid loading the pressure on McAlister.
His time at No 10 had been limited in 2005 where he was used mainly at 12 and 13 by the Blues. Asking him to be the new Carter when his experience was limited didn't seem fair so McAlister spent the 2005 Tri Nations coming off the bench.
Test by test he would build his knowledge base, sharpen his skills and understanding. In the final game of the 2005 Tri Nations, he was introduced early in the second half and asked to slot three high-pressure penalties. He nailed them all without blinking.
Another injury kept him at home at the end of 2005 but his progress didn't stall. He was asked to lead the back division from first five-eighths against Ireland in the opening tests of 2006. Again it was a smart ploy - Carter was being rested after a long Super 14 and the Irish would provide a stiff challenge.
Imperceptibly the selectors were putting McAlister under more pressure and they were also building his confidence in a position they suspected he was not destined to play long term. If he could handle the pressure of first five-eighths, could run a game from there, then it would make his life easier when he was considered only a second five-eighths, as he was by the Tri Nations.
All that time at 10 has been crucial, McAlister reckons, in helping him understand the big picture.
"I didn't play too much at 12 so I guess being chucked into 12 makes me appreciate the pressure that is on 10," he said. "I really help 10 in that regard - you get to know and respect both positions."
After earning two starts during the 2006 Tri Nations, McAlister was edging closer to Aaron Mauger as the first- choice No. 12.
Gradually the high-risk kicking reduced. His tackling technique became more effective, his timing more honed and the angles he ran more acute.
Another two starts on the end of season tour to Europe nudged him ahead of his rival and, by the end of the game in Cardiff last year, he was no longer the future, he was the present. He'd stepped out of Mauger's shadow and slapped on the table a total package that was impossible for the selectors to ignore.
Confirmation of where he now stands came last Wednesday when he was named to start alongside Conrad Smith against Scotland.
Mauger is now trailing in his wake, not that McAlister sees it that way: "I don't really look at it as a battle with Aaron. I look at it that we are both doing our best for the team rather than trying to put each other out.
"I can't control what the coaches do in selection. I just do my best at training and I wouldn't read too much into this game."
But the message from the selectors is that we should read a fair bit into this game.
The team they've picked is essentially the one they deem to be their strongest, with a few alterations due to the injury-induced workload of some.
McAlister is their man and it's a triumph for the way the coaching staff ensured the foundation stone of his growth has always been a stable psychological base. He wasn't rushed before he was ready.
McAlister was never burdened with expectation. He was given time and space to learn and it was the right formula for him.
His talent and potential had never been disputed. The only uncertainty, as there always is with age-grade stars, was whether he could extract all he had to offer and produce it on the biggest stage.
His own hard work and professionalism, aligned with the considered management, have enabled him to deliver all that he promised.
Understandably, then, there wasn't a lot of supportive nodding from the All Black panel when McAlister announced he would be heading overseas after the World Cup.
McAlister's view on his pending move to Sale is this: "It is something I have made a decision on and it's something I'm going to go hard for.
"I don't make a decision and not go for it. It will be something new, an opportunity to play a different style of rugby. Hopefully, I can improve but I'm going into the unknown so I don't really know."
Henry and his team have a different view. As far as they are concerned, they had nurtured McAlister to base camp. From where he is now, they feel that if he had stayed in New Zealand, he could conquer any number of summits.
