Al Baxter's patience was tested through 100 games before he finally notched his first Super rugby try last weekend.
Now the Wallabies prop is anxious to amend another irritating career statistic when the New South Wales Waratahs' title credentials go on the line against the Crusaders in Christchurch.
Baxter is one of only two current Waratahs to have won at the home of the seven-time champions -- and in a timely boost for the competition leaders the other survivor from that 43-19 triumph in 2004 was cleared to travel yesterday.
Captain and openside flanker Phil Waugh is still doubtful with a quad strain but management is confident he will be able to join No 8 Wycliff Palu in returning to action for a ninth-round match tomorrow night that could define the Super 14 campaigns of both teams.
Despite leading the standings, the Waratahs risk dropping out of the top four with a loss given they have the bye next weekend, while the third-placed Crusaders are still to embark on a tough road trip to Pretoria and Cape Town.
Although the Waratahs have a dismal one-win eight-loss record in Christchurch, Baxter insists the team will approach their task with confidence.
Reluctant to describe any Crusaders set-up containing Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter as an inferior product to their title-winning predecessors, the 69-test tighthead prop admitted the trip was not as daunting as previous years.
"They no longer have a number of attacking options all across the field, they only have three or four instead or five or six," said Baxter, who endured final defeats at Christchurch in 2004 and 2008.
A qualified architect, Baxter offered a simple blueprint for the Waratahs to solidify their top-four status.
"We've been controlling the ball well, we've been holding on to it for long phases of play and we've been scoring tries," he said.
"That's exactly what we need to do in Christchurch. Even with the rain (against the Cheetahs last Saturday) we still held on to the ball for long periods of time."
Coach Chris Hickey, plotting to guide the Waratahs to six successive wins for the first time since Super rugby began in 1996, agreed possession was paramount against the Crusaders.
"Maintaining possession is a key, if you turnover possession they will punish you," he said, adding that was only one attribute needed to combat the competition's most successful team.
"There's a lot of things you have to do well against them. They're a team that applies a lot of pressure. You have to be able to operate under that pressure and you still have to be able to play to the strategies you want to play."
Encouragingly for the Waratahs, they are showing signs of emulating a Crusaders hallmark of old this season -- the ability to close out matches poised on a knife edge.
The Waratahs opened their season with a miraculous escape in Brisbane, fighting back in the final quarter to pip the Reds 30-28. The Sharks were also shaded 25-21 and the Western Force 14-10 before a late intercept try was instrumental in squeezing past the Blues 39-32 in round seven.
Reminded of those scenarios Hickey acknowledged: "I think we've got good game management in tight situations.
"The more you do that the better you get at it. I'd say composure is one of the strengths this side has displayed and it is developing."
Meanwhile, Baxter hoped another Waratahs win would finally alter the perception of a team booed by their own fans last month for playing conservatively.
"We've got the most tries in the competition, we've got the most run metres and the second least number of kicks," he said.
"The perception just isn't there that we're doing well."
The Waratahs have scored 31 tries, two more than the defending champions the Bulls.
The Crusaders have only 23 but they counter that imbalance by conceding 11 five-pointers to the Waratahs' 23.
