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Crusaders rookie earns 'other than Dupont' praise from All Blacks star
By Ned Lester
It appears the Crusaders have unearthed yet another gem in halfback Kyle Preston. Star fullback Will Jordan offered his perspective this week on just how special the 25-year-old is.
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Fresh off a title-winning with Wellingotn in the NPC, Preston earned himself his first full-time Super Rugby contract with a Crusaders outfit looking to replace former England international Willi Heinz.
The Wellingtonian was named on the bench for the Crusaders’ opening match of the year against his local team, the Hurricanes. The debut began early with an eight-minute injury to All Black Noah Hotham and ended in three tries and a win.
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The eye-catching display came after recording a New Zealand-best bronco time in preseason, building interest in the young prospect.
In the games since, Preston has shown his early form is no fluke, and there are plenty of impressive strings to his bow. Jordan shared what had impressed him most about his new teammate, making a lofty claim that places Preston in the upper echelon of halfbacks globally.
“I went home and watched the game back again last night, and I almost think the way he’s playing is a bit unappreciated at the moment,” Jordan told The Good, The Bad & The Rugby.
“He obviously got that hat-trick in round one, which was great around his try-scoring. But, he’s really the only nine in the world other than (Antoine) Dupont who kicks well off both feet.
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“Watching the accuracy of his kicking game last night, it’s off both feet. It’s either long and out around halfway, or it’s contestable where our wingers are getting up with Davey (Havili) coming through.
“It’s a pretty special ability, and the way that he’s able to relieve pressure from our own 22 after scoring points is massive. I couldn’t be more impressed with the way he’s going.”
New Crusaders teammate James O’Connor was also singing the rookie’s praises, following Jordan’s analyses with a first-five’s perspective.
“It’s huge for a 10 as well because that’s the toughest kick,” the former Wallaby added. “When you’re standing in a corner, they throw it back five, 10 metres, and we’ve got a pretty similar angle… if you can kick off both feet and he’s putting them out past the 40 as well, which is huge.
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“Another big thing is some of those support lines, just following the ball. We obviously know our plays that we’re going to do, so you sort of know it might break here, it might break there, but in phase shape, to have that instinct to follow the ball, this guy’s got the ball he might get through here so I’m going to take a little cheat line.
“I feel like nines in New Zealand do that really well, and KP’s definitely doing it great.”
Adding further praise was former All Black halfback Justin Marshall, who highlighted the late-blooming Preston’s pathway, saying it’s a strength of New Zealand’s that there are still opportunities to earn professional contracts even if you don’t find success in the age-grade teams and only make an NPC debut in your mid-20s.
Masrahall also expressed his view that Preston will only grow as he gets more confident and more familiar with the talent around him.
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It is just possible that the Crusaders have ended up with the top 2 half backs in NZ. So premature to say “ poor Hotham “ I am sure both players will get game time as this intense speeding up of the game tends to exhaust players.
Kyle Preston has been a revelation for the Crusaders since his hat trick debut in Round One off the bench , against the Hurricanes. Will Jordan, Justin Marshall and O’Connor right in there praise. Noah Hotham, also brilliant half back, will be back soon. A great comp between these two in the years to come.
Yeah..Id be sweating if I was the hapless Hotham now which is sad as NH is top drawer. Preston is a wonderful player …reminds me of Webber. Great to watch. The ruck clearance and kick clearance from NZ 9s is epic now. To think that only 12 mths ago we were stuck with a 7 pretending to be a 9 in Perenara and Christie’s laboured efforts.
Lowkey feel sorry for Hotham here. Got injured and a new guy outclassed him instantly. Probably lost third spot to Preston now.
Bizarre take. Hotham/Preston double threat will be massive come end of the season, with both players capable of big minutes Penney will have the luxury of swapping about in order to keep them both fresh. Then Drummy to provide them off field support in the mentor role! Halfback is in great shape for the Crusaders this year, compared to the mess they had last year