Back in familiar territory

Come kick-off on Saturday the All Blacks may have as few as four of the team that was there for the start of the last meeting at Lansdowne Road, four years ago, and few will feel more familiar with the surroundings than Aaron Mauger.

His memories having been sharpened by the squad's arrival in Dublin airport on Sunday evening, the All Blacks centre was soon enjoying a few quiet pints of Guinness - in the company of a few old friends from his six-month stint with Suttonians back in 1997-1998 - at the squad's base in the Castleknock Hotel and Country Club.

It was during that earlier stint that Mauger, then 17, was introduced to, among other things, the black stuff, which may partially explain why his memories of attending the All Blacks 63-15 victory are a tad blurred. Similarly, he cannot recall actually playing against Brian O'Driscoll in an under-20 game between Suttonians and UCD, although he has since been told he did.

"I remember it being pretty cold, and running out on the ground at seven at night to train and the ground was already frosted over. It was a little bit disappointing and took a little bit of getting used to. But I really enjoyed it, made some great friends here, enjoyed the rugby, and it was good for me to get a bit of an OE (overseas expedition) in before I started to play professional rugby. In hindsight, it was probably the only opportunity I've had to do that."

One of those young players seemingly touched at birth to play for the All Blacks, Mauger is a cousin of the Bachops, Steve and Graeme, as well as a brother of fellow All Black Nathan, and came through New Zealand's under-16s, schools, under-18s and under-21s production line.

Sure enough, his next trek back to Ireland was even better, a try-scoring debut in the All Blacks' 40-29 win four years ago.

"I've had some pretty memorable times here and that probably sits up there as one of the best rugby moments of my life. It's good to be back here to try and get that feeling back."

The emotions for a young Kiwi pulling on the famed All Black jersey for the first time can only be imagined, and needless to say Mauger has countless memories of the day.

"I remember turning up at the ground and all the Kiwi supporters outside knocking on the bus and singing Kiwi songs. It was pretty emotional for me playing my first Test, and I had my brother and all my mates from Dublin in the stand. It was a really tough game actually. They got a bit of a lead on us but the boys dug deep and to come away with a win and cap it off with a try was an awesome day."

The try?

"It all happened pretty fast really. I just remember getting a wide ball from Mehrts (Andrew Mehrtens) and chopping back inside a couple of guys, falling over the line and getting picked up by Tana (Umaga) and Anton (Oliver), who are still here four years later," he smiles.

The nucleus of next Saturday's side have trained together for 10 days or so, and their eagerness for the fray has been sharpened by last Saturday's performance against Wales.

"We're aware we can't be complacent. In the past we possibly had good performances and then let ourselves down the next week and scraped through with a win. So for us it's just about getting into that space again and have another good performance and really prove to ourselves that we can do that week after week."

Easygoing and chatty, Mauger, who plays and sounds a good deal older than his 24 years, is now one of the team's leaders, and one of their half-dozen, self-taught guitarists.

"There's about four or five of us who hack away," he says modestly, "but Neemia Tialata could walk into any band in the world."

As with others who'll start on Saturday, Conrad Smith's performance against Wales, especially in defence, has thrown down a marker for the classy Mauger, a selfless all-round talent who helps bring out the best in those around him and frequently contributes to scores in his own understated way with breaks, visionary distribution and deadly grubbers.

"That's exciting for us. We're a pretty close group now, we get in behind each other and support each other. It doesn't really matter what province you play for, you play for the All Blacks and they're all your mates. It's something we've turned into a real strength in the All Black environment."