Barrett-gate finally arrives: who will be crowned the best brother?
Just like at their Taranaki farm around the turn of the century, do not be surprised to see a heated game of “run it straight” between two brothers in Wellington tonight.
Hurricanes utility Jordie Barrett will get a crack at his older brother Beauden for the first time since the latter departed the Hurricanes for the Blues at the end of last year.
Although it is the third match-up between the sides this year — the Blues winning the first two — it will be the first time the brothers take the same pitch in different Super Rugby strips.
Both start at fullback in a game that could see the Hurricanes, despite dropping their first two matches of Super Rugby Aotearoa, leapfrog the Blues into second on the ladder with a sizeable win.
Given the duo were teammates for three years and continually contend for starting roles in the All Blacks, any occasion where they face-off, let alone for the first time in professional rugby, is mouthwatering.
But their form has seemingly travelled down different paths, with Jordie emerging as an essential piece in the Hurricanes side, while Beauden has been relatively quiet in his performances for the Blues.
Hurricanes coach Jason Holland put the younger of the Barretts at the top of his pecking order.
“In my eyes, he’s the best [fullback] in the country, but he’s got to work hard to make sure he stays there and perform week in, week out,” he said.
Discussing Jordie’s performance against the Highlanders last weekend, Holland noted there were “a couple of little sloppy bits there, and Jordie’s come to me and talked around things that aren’t to his absolute standard around a couple of turnovers. But for me, he’s streets ahead of everyone else at 15.”
It is a bold opinion when put up against Beauden’s two World Rugby Player of the Year awards, and status as one of the greatest All Blacks.
Co-captain Dane Coles agrees with his coach “out of bias” but is not buying into the idea Beauden is out of form.
“He’s been a massive part of their success, being back. Just controlling the game, you can see his experience is really standing out.”
Coles knows the magnitude of the occasion with Beauden returning to the Cake Tin in a Super Rugby clash for the first time since June 2019. But he believes Jordie is up for the challenge, and described him as a “pretty calm person”.
Holland expressed relief his former star will not be playing at first-receiver tonight.
“He’s obviously not there from set piece — which probably gives us some peace of mind if he’s not a threat around the 10 channel.”
When the two played at Eden Park in the first week of Super Rugby Aotearoa, Coles scored a memorable try where he barged his way through Beauden to score in the corner. It was followed up by some celebrations that the Hurricanes forcefully included their old teammate in.
The All Blacks hooker is keen to grab another try in a similar fashion.
“It’d be nice if I get down the channel again and see my old mate,” he said. “Hopefully there’s a few boos for him when he gets out.”
The Blues come off an unusual feeling — defeat, suffering their first in eight games against the Crusaders last weekend. They will also be without the in-form Hoskins Sotutu and veteran James Parsons, as well as rising winger Caleb Clarke.
By contrast, the Hurricanes welcome back Coles and Reed Prinsep from injury, and are experiencing a rise in form with a chance to secure their third consecutive win.
Super Rugby Aotearoa per-game averages
Beauden Barrett (4 games)
41m, 8 carries, 2 defenders beaten, 1 linebreak, 14 kicks, 2 points, 3 tackles, 1 missed tackle, 2 turnovers conceded, 1 penalty conceded.
Jordie Barrett (2 games)
30m, 13 carries, 4 defenders beaten, 2 linebreaks, 2 try assists, 12 kicks, 6 points, 5 tackles, 1 missed tackle, 5 turnovers conceded, 1 penalty conceded.
Comments on RugbyPass
harry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
2 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to comments