All Blacks great reacts to ‘the genius of Beauden Barrett’

All Blacks greats Justin Marshall and Kieran Read have reacted to Beauden Barrett’s standout performance in the 43-21 win over the Wallabies, with the 147-Test veteran turning heads with a two-try effort at Accor Stadium.

Barrett didn’t feature at all during the Nations Championship Tests in July and played just nine minutes off the bench during the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series. But with Ruben Love and Richie Mo’unga unavailable, Dave Rennie turned to the experienced playmaker for the Bledisloe Cup.

Damian McKenzie shifted from fullback to first five ahead of the Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park, seeing Barrett wear the No. 15. It marked Barrett’s first appearance in New Zealand’s run-on side since an Autumn Nations Series clash with England last November.

Barrett retained that spot in the First XV for Bledisloe II in Sydney, and the 2015 Rugby World Cup winner made a game-defining impact during the first half. The 35-year-old showcased some fast feet to score the All Blacks’ second try, and completed a double just before half-time.

Rennie spoke post-game about the importance of Barrett’s second five-pointer, with the fullback picking off a pass and racing 60 metres to the house. It would’ve been a 15-point ball game if the Wallabies had scored, but some individual brilliance saw ‘Baz’ go the other way.

“For me it was the performance of Beauden Barrett,” Marshall said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby Australia & New Zealand.

“A guy that’s been under a massive amount of pressure and where does he actually fit into the mix in the next couple of years? Is he worth taking on the end-of-year tour? Is he a World Cup prospect? And exactly what jersey does he command? Is he just slotting in when others are injured or does he actually have something to add? I thought he added at the weekend.

“When your team’s functioning like that and you’re on the front foot then it is a lot easier but you still have to make things happen. I like the way that he went out there with a real positive attitude to get himself into the game.

“You can sometimes, when you’re under pressure, be guilty of not wanting to make an error so you stay out of the game, whereas he went hunting for the ball, went looking for it and got himself into first, second receiver role from fullback and then equally put himself into positions where he could be a threat.

“Two of those times came up with tries. One of them, as he came off [Cam] Roigard on the right side as a first receiver, a little bit of show-go footwork, through, pounced, off the All Blacks off a great from [Peter] Lakai.

“Then the second try, that’s the genius of Beauden Barrett. The fact he was able to get into the space the Wallabies were able to attack… there was an overlap but he stood there, got in the space, and then he had presence of mind.”

Former All Blacks captain Read, who won the 2015 World Cup alongside Barrett, echoed what Marshall had said about the quality of the knock. Barrett carried the ball a dozen times, ran for a team-high 120 metres, and finished with an equal game-high five kicks.

“He’s a world-class player… yes he’s not gong to have potentially the same amount of touches we’ve seen or the absolute pace, but he has vision, he sees the game, and I can guarantee he’s seeing the game a lot better even than what he was 10 years ago,” Read added.

“Just through experience you get that, you understand it. He’s someone who actually leads the team so he’s got a voice. We underestimate as a fullback the importance of you just doing so much work with your wingers, pulling strings there, looking up for space, letting [Damian McKenzie] knows what’s going on.

“That’s all he can do right, is performance when he’s given that chance.”