Colin Slade didn't have to wait long to get his chance at No10 for the Crusaders - 73 minutes, in fact - and now he has an opportunity to make Dan Carter's return an even more arduous one.
Slade need only play reasonably well against the Highlanders in Dunedin tonightto cement his place at first-five for the foreseeable future.
Even if Carter should quickly bounce back from his right leg injury - and that is doubtful given his history and the fact he has been favouring it ever since the incident occurred in the defeat against the Rebels - he was so easily contained by the defence that his place could have been under threat with the return of Israel Dagg to fullback tonight.
Slade, who moved from No15 to first-five once Carter went off, didn't have too many opportunities on attack against the Rebels, but he looked quicker than Carter and has clearly lost none of his bravery under the high ball. Coach Todd Blackadder would have had a difficult decision to make this week - how to accommodate a fit and firing Slade and out-of-sorts Carter in the same team?
Details on Carter's injury are sketchy, but one thing is sure - it is a lot more serious than the "dead leg" he thought it was at the time. The other worrying aspect in this year of all years for Carter is why he was determined to stay on following the incident, an innocuous one in which he appeared to jar his leg when reaching for a pass. He was clearly in a lot of pain, was gun-shy going into contact for the remaining 15 or so minutes he was on the field, and nearly collapsed when re-starting play following his charged-down kick which led to Nic Stirzaker's converted try.
Did he truly think he could "run the injury off", or was he trying to prove a point?
It would be a great shame if Carter's year, his last in New Zealand, trailed off into constant injury and disappointment. The test rugby points scoring record holder's achievements speak for themselves, yet there will be many willing to write him off, just as Richie McCaw came in for criticism last year.
That reached a crescendo after the All Blacks' disappointing 12-all draw against the Wallabies at Sydney's ANZ Stadium last August, a few weeks after he was wrongly penalised by Craig Joubert in the final minutes of the Super Rugby final at the same venue which gifted the title to the Waratahs.
Coach Steve Hansen later said the public backlash was a type of protection device. "I'm not sure they [the public] want him to fail, I think they're scared he will fail," he said.
The Super Rugby season is a long grind - a marathon rather than a sprint. Carter will get his chance again once he gets himself right, but Slade has been given a head start and now it's up to him to make the most of it.
