All Blacks drink purge still a glass half-empty

Winning a place in the New Zealand starting XV is one of the hardest
achievements in rugby.

Losing it, as Aaron Cruden has just discovered, could
hardly be easier.



The Alka-Seltzer is no doubt still dissolving in his glass, the sound of the
fizz still rattling between his ears.

The reporters have maybe now left his
doorstep in Hamilton.

Behind the door, though, Cruden is left with the
knowledge that while a drinking binge may not be uncommon for a 25-year-old,
when you are an All Black and you have missed the team flight to Argentina
because of it, then