there was never total agreement on his ranking in the pecking order of All Black first five-eighths. Some headed by Colin Meads believed that Mehrtens was the best in his position ever produced by New Zealand. Others believed that despite his immense skills, vision, kicking and ability to throw long cut out passes to his outsides he had limitations, especially in the way rugby developed in the professional era. He was seen as lacking the physique or inclination to mix it physically, either taking the ball up or committing himself to the tackle. Outside the playing field, Mehrtens proved to be a favourite with fans and a large section of the media because of his pleasant manner, his intelligence, and his wit and sense of humour. Despite his family background Mehrtens only emerged as a rare prospect in his late teens, perhaps because he was a slower developer physically. In his teens Mehrtens showed almost as much promise in tennis, where in various age groups he was nationally ranked. His first significant rugby selection was in 1992 when he played in the national under 19s against Australia in a side which also included later Crusaders or All Blacks teammates Adrian Cashmore, Norman Berryman, Milton Going, Tabai Matson, Justin Marshall and Taine Randell. He was first chosen for Canterbury in 1993–94 and in each of those seasons he was in the New Zealand Colts, making his first major impact nationally in the Canterbury side which in 1994 took the Ranfurly Shield from Waikato. His performance that day and in Shield defences later that season against Counties and Otago marked him as a clear All Black prospect. Though left out of the initial training squads, Mehrtens developed so much that he forced his way into the 1995 World Cup squad, having made his All Black debut in the early season test against Canada when he scored 28 points. In the World Cup tournament he was a success, one of three youngsters with Jonah Lomu and Josh Kronfeld who gave the All Blacks a dimension which had been lacking for much of the 1994 season. The only quibble about Mehrtens at the World Cup was missing a dropped goal attempt in the extra time of the final. Over the next six or seven seasons Mehrtens was a virtual automatic selection for the All Black squad, though he was not always assured of a