Jordie Barrett has been one of the All Blacks' best in a long Rugby Championship away from home, but he's lifted the lid on his difficult road to cementing the No.15 jersey.
The youngest Barrett has switched focus to the mental side of his game to get the best out of himself on the field and it's worked wonders.
"I'm going into games a lot clearer, a lot more confident, because I'm not worrying about anything else," he tells Newshub. "I'm a lot clearer in my job and confident in my ability."
That's partly down to an increased responsibility at the Hurricanes.
With brother Beauden leaving for the Blues and TJ Perenara taking the Super Rugby season off to play in Japan, Barrett, 24, became the senior player in the Hurricanes back-line and he admits that forced him to grow up as a player.
"It taught me to go bone deep with prep and get a lot of confidence from that," he says. "The last two seasons in Wellington with the Hurricanes have really helped my game understanding."
He hasn't been perfect all year, but being able to reflect and realise when things aren't going well is just as important as celebrating when it is.
"You're never the finished product as a footy player," says Barrett. "You learn things every single year, I'm still learning now."
Coach Ian Foster is happy with the lessons his young fullback is learning, after preferring Damian McKenzie in the starting role early in the year.
Foster thinks being forced to compete for the spot has been beneficial.
"Sometimes, when you don't get the jersey for a few weeks, it focuses you more on what you've got to get right and he's certainly responded."
Observes Barrett: "Sometimes you can have all the tools in the tool box and you only need one."
But Jordie Barrett is quickly discovering how to best use them all.
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