All Black Will Jordan marked his return to rugby with a starring performance for the Crusaders, in a welcomed boost for the Super Rugby hopefuls.
Jordan was instrumental in their 48-13 win over Western Force, and will undoubtedly have New Zealand coach Ian Foster grinning from ear to ear.
The fullback showed no signs of nerves in his comeback, setting up two tries, running for 137 metres, beating five defenders, and making two linebreaks in just over 50 minutes.
Despite a more than encouraging first hitout, Jordan admits to being too eager early on, but credited his teammates for helping him settle into the game.
"It was great to be back out there, obviously afternoon footy, great conditions, so, nice to be able to chuck the ball around and get through a solid-enough 50 minutes," he told Sky Sport.
"Just try and get involved. Try not to overplay your hand too much, and probably was guilty of that in the first 20 minutes.
"But just tried to get my hands on the ball, get involved and the boys inside did a great job of creating space, and our set-piece was great as well.
"It does feel good to get the monkey off the back and get back out there, and just keep building through it.
"The Crusaders medical team have been great around supporting me and just take it week by week, but good start tonight."
Jordan's return couldn't have come sooner for the Crusaders, after last week's defeat to Super Rugby leaders Chiefs.
With just four rounds left before the playoffs, they face stiff competition to secure home advantage, with just one point separating them from the Hurricanes and Brumbies.
Jordan believes the Crusaders are finally starting to click, with no better test than next week's clash against the Blues.
"We felt like we were right there," he said. "Obviously, the Chiefs have been the form team in the competition, they're playing great footy.
"To go up there and be able to control possession and territory. We didn't get the result, but we felt like our game has been building.
"There are still some improvements to be made after tonight, but I think we showed we are starting to tread in the right direction as the season goes on.
"The Blues have been a big rival of ours for the last couple of years, and they've been tracking well.
"It's always a good battle, particularly down here. Obviously, they beat us down here last year and it will be nice to take them back on."
