Former All Blacks first-five Aaron Cruden has revealed he was approached by the Crusaders to take up a role as an injury replacement before the start of their miserable Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Speaking to Sky Sports' Aotearoa Rugby Pod, the 50-test international said he'd fielded a phone call from assistant coach James Marshall in January with an offer to help ease the squad's lack of depth at No. 10.
While Cruden admits he gave the offer strong consideration, stability for his young family - with his wife expecting their third child - was the determining factor in rebuffing the southerners' approach.
"I was pretty tempted and pretty close," Cruden confessed.
"But a lot of the decisions I've probably made, especially this year around rugby... it's been more based around the family and just making sure that really fit for everyone.
"It was tough from a personal point of view, as a competitor I'm pretty keen to still play.
"But I think prioritising my family right now was certainly the way."
Cruden, 35, is currently a free agent, without a club after three seasons in Japan with Kobelco Kobe Steelers and Tokyo Sungoliath.
Last year, the 2011 World Cup winner returned to New Zealand for a brief stint with Waikato in the National Provincial Championship, scoring two tries in four appearances.
Filling the void left by Richie Mo'unga at the all-important pivot has been one of the most problematic areas of the defending champions' startlingly poor year, with just one win through eight matches to date.
With Fergus Burke sidelined since October with an Achilles injury, head coach Rob Penney has predominantly used rookies Taha Kemara and Riley Hohepa at first-five, and a player as experienced as Cruden would've been a valuable asset for a squad whose injury issues have seen them call in the likes of 36-year-old journeyman Toby Arnold as cover.
Anchored at the bottom of the standings, the seven-time champs are currently five points adrift of the eighth and final playoffs spot and in serious danger of missing out on the post-season altogether for the first time since 2015.
"I'm not sure if I could have helped down there right now anyway," Cruden added.
"Maybe a little bit of experience. But those young guys getting that exposure, I think they'll certainly be better for it in that Crusaders 10 jersey."
Cruden spent his Super Rugby prime with the Chiefs, making 100 appearances in a five-year stretch from 2011, highlighted by back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. He played his last test for the All Blacks in 2017, before heading to France to join Top 14 side Montpellier.
Cruden has also been in talks with Irish club Ulster but confirms he's also turned them down on the same basis of ensuring his growing whānau remain as settled as possible.
"It just doesn't quite fit timing wise," he added, "But I did obviously say to them I really appreciated the offer and the interest in a 35-year-old veteran that's still got a bit of game."
The Manawatū product is all too familiar with the Crusaders' woes, having gone through a similarly morale-sapping losing streak of eight games as a member of the 2020 Chiefs squad.
After such a sustained period of success, Cruden says the Crusaders are simply coming down the other side of the mountain, need to stay the course and resist making any wholesale change.
Cruden points to the Chiefs rise since those struggles as proof of how much growth can come from the hardship of losing.
"They've just been at the top for so long, there was always going to be a point where other teams caught up and the tide changed, and unfortunately it's coincided with a lot of these changes.
"We were 0-8 and everyone remembers the losses, but we didn't lose those games by a lot either.
"That may sound like a bit of an excuse but to be honest, but sometimes you just have to ride through a bit of a rough time to then come out the other end.
"Talking to the likes of Anton [Lienert-Brown], Damian [McKenzie], [Luke Jacobson], who are still in there now and they were that year as well, they will often say the resilience and probably the connection they grew within that difficult patch has allowed them to learn a lot about themselves, and collectively as group, about how to propel themselves to being competitive and pushing for titles year after year since then."
On Friday, the Crusaders host the Rebels in a must-win encounter in Christchurch, where they should receive a welcome boost with the return of All Blacks David Havili and Scott Barrett.
