Has the Beauden Barrett Era Begun?

It's official. Beauden Barrett is and will be the first name that the coaches will pick in their All Blacks starting XV at number 10.

That's according to head coach, Steve Hansen as he moved to clear the air over the first five position with Dan Carter struggling to shake off his injury woes and Aaron Cruden struggling to shake off the consequences of his late night out last month.

Barrett over Cruden? Based on this season, it is a very fair call. While the Hurricanes failed to make the playoffs (again), Barrett's form was consistently at a high level while Cruden was sidelined with injury and showed indifferent form when he played. Cruden improved immeasurably after the disappointing draw in Sydney and his place in the starting XV seemed assured until the return of Dan Carter.

Over the long run, it's neck and neck between Barrett and Cruden, both fine talented and intelligent playmakers. In attack, they are lightning and capable of spotting a gap.

In defence, Cruden has definitely got the reputation as a mean tackler while Barrett has had to work on his defence early on in his career and is certainly no longer a gaping hole in the backline. Indeed, his pace - and for that matter, determination and heart - is a prized asset having stopped a couple of certain intercept tries in recent times.

Barrett over Carter? Tough comparison really given they are both from different generations and are heading in opposite directions in their careers. However, the start of both their careers seems similar - both were thrust into their provinces at a young age and both made their All Blacks starts at a young age and spent their first games in black in positions other than first five, i.e. Carter at second five, Barrett at fullback.

Barrett has the ingredients to be as great a first five as Dan Carter if not better - Carter's current legendary status was given a lightning start by the once-in-a-lifetime British Lions series in 2005, although Barrett has the chance to book his name in the All Blacks hall of fame with a similar performance when the Lions come by in 2017. Barrett's performances against Argentina and South Africa were not dissimilar to Carter's first games at first-five in 2004 - spectacular in attack and just as good with the goal kicking.

So, Barrett is our first choice first-five and our best first-five right now. And I predict he will be the first choice first-five at the Rugby World Cup next year. A remarkable feat given the incredible depth New Zealand rugby has in that position right now and the players Barrett has had to beat to nail the position.