'Bloody excited' Perofeta handed All Blacks chance

Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo'unga have long shut out other claimants to New Zealand's number 10 jersey but All Blacks fans may see a new challenger emerge in the Rugby Championship clash against Argentina on Saturday.

With a stiff neck from a training mishap ruling Barrett out of the Christchurch test, his Auckland Blues team mate Stephen Perofeta will have his chance to debut off the bench.

Three years before Barrett crossed to the Blues from the Wellington Hurricanes in 2020, a 20-year-old Perofeta was the Super Rugby side's starting flyhalf when they upset the touring British and Irish Lions 22-16 at Eden Park.

The young playmaker seemed on a fast track to an All Blacks jersey but a string of injuries stalled his progress and Mo'unga emerged to become Barrett's chief rival at 10.

Barrett has had most of the position at the Blues, relegating Perofeta to fullback, but the pair's combination has underpinned the team's rise from habitual underachievers to championship contenders.

Perofeta could have few better mentors than twice world-player-of-the-year Barrett for the step up to test level as the All Blacks look for back-to-back wins after the breakthrough victory over South Africa at Ellis Park.

"I'm extremely grateful and blessed to be in this position, as unfortunate as it is for Baz (Barrett), and his injury, I would never want to wish that on anyone," 25-year-old Perofeta said of his call-up.

"Growing up as a kid, it's always a dream. But it has felt so far (away).

"Just coming from Whanganui - a small town - I thought it was never achievable. But through the support I've had, throughout my whole journey, the help I've got ... I'm bloody excited."

With Barrett expected to be fit for the second match against Argentina in