Despite arguably his best game in a black jersey, All Blacks winger Mark Telea is taking nothing for granted in his quest to make the No.11 jersey his own.
As the All Blacks surged home for a 38-7 victory over the Wallabies to both secure the Rugby Championship and lock away the Bledisloe Cup for another year, few had as big of a night to remember as Telea did.
Backed to retain his starting spot after victory over South Africa two weeks ago, Telea repaid coach Ian Foster's faith in full at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
In 80 minutes, Telea made 16 runs for a game-high 126 metres, made five clean breaks, beat eight defenders - and most significantly for a winger, had a hand in two tries, one scored and one assisted for Rieko Ioane.
At a time where the All Blacks have incredible depth waiting in the wings - no pun intended - Telea's efforts in Melbourne have gone a long way towards locking him in Foster's first XV moving towards this year's Rugby World Cup in France.
Seeking an out-and-out No.11, Telea now holds an advantage over the likes of Caleb Clarke, who came off the bench to score, and Leicester Fainga'anuku, yet to play a test this year.
Not to mention, as shown at the MCG, Telea also offers tactical flexibility on the right flank, after spending nearly all of Super Rugby Pacific wearing No.14 for the Blues.
But with just two tests to go until the World Cup - with a return fixture against the Wallabies in Dunedin next week and a clash against the Springboks on neutral territory at Twickenham - Telea is far from convinced he's done enough to seal his spot.
"Not yet, I'm not settled at all," said Telea. "Every week is a different challenge.
"The challenge for myself [is] we're all competing for positions here.
"For myself, I can't get complacent."
Telea's evening could have been even better, if it weren't for a disallowed try call in the first half.
From a penalty against Australia, Telea was judged unsuccessful in his tap and go attempt, robbing him of what should have been a second double in just four tests since his debut in late 2022.
Telea, though, maintains his belief that he scored.
"I thought it was a try," he confessed. "I dropped it and kicked it, I thought if I picked it up and dropped it again, it would be a knock-on.
"I guess the ref saw something different. That's just footy.
"You've just got to keep going."
Telea is in line for three successive starts, when the All Blacks return to New Zealand for a second fixture against the Wallabies, to be played in Dunedin next weekend.
