Waikato back on track - Donald
Onwards and upwards: Donald celebrates with his team-mates
All Black back-up fly-half Stephen Donald believes his Waikato rugby team can kick on now after ending their winning drought in the Air New Zealand Cup over the weekend.
Donald returns to All Blacks duties this week after playing for Waikato in the their last two Air New Zealand Cup matches and contributing 19 points, including one of his trademark chip and regain solo tries, towards Saturday's 34-13 breakthrough victory over Auckland in Hamilton.
That win edged the team into the top eight for the first time this year.
"I've always said if you make the eight then it's one-off games from there," Donald told the Waikato Times.
"I don't want to make any outlandish claims, but I don't think there's anything stopping this team from really building.
"There's guys now who will lead the team in older guys' absence. There's guys like Callum Bruce who will really stand up now and Kevvy O'Neill and Toby (Lynn), who probably haven't been playing as well as they did in the Super 14 but were massive out there tonight.
"I think if those guys can now build on this and lead I think the next few weeks we can build a little bit of momentum and once the (All Blacks) all come back, I think there's five or six of us to come back, who knows?"
Donald said he was unsure just when he might return to the team following the remaining All Blacks fixtures against Samoa and Australia in the next twelve days.
"I'm not sure how it all plays out," he said.
"I know contractually we're supposed to have a couple of weeks off and we still haven't had that but obviously I'll love getting back."
The return of an All Black starting back three of Mils Muliaina, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Richard Kahui was an exciting prospect for the business end of the competition.
Donald said he was "rapt" for skipper Liam Messam, who had had to face the media in the first four weeks of the championship in a despondent mood, but who could now be a happy man.
"He had a big game tonight and I feel a bit sorry for him because he's been a bit of a lone ranger in the leadership department up until now," said Donald.
"But I think that Tuesday (honesty) session might have shot a few people in the arm and hopefully now he's not a lone ranger in that regard."