Barrett's situation stuck at the back is his own doing and will likely only get worse
Well, might Beauden Barrett remind folk that first five-eighth is his preferred playing position.
Whether his intended audience was the rugby public, or Blues coach Leon MacDonald, the situation remains one of Barrett’s own making.
He’s long sat Super Rugby games out. At the Hurricanes, for instance, weeks could go by between appearances by Barrett.
He wasn’t injured, nor on one of his All Blacks-prescribed rests. No, we media folk and fans of the franchise would later be told Barrett was utilising a clause in his contract that had been inserted years before, enabling him to jet off to an exotic location for a spot of social influencing.
Or some such nonsense, designed to keep him happy and based in the capital.
Things have changed a bit in Auckland, though. Not on Barrett’s part, mind. No, he wasn’t sighted during Super Rugby’s first incarnation for 2020.
What changed was that when Barrett did deign to play, the No.10 jersey wasn’t still ready and waiting for him.
Time was when an All Black never gave a sucker an even break. Heck, even at provincial level players only gave their jumpers up grudgingly.
It’s not so long ago that a guy like Frank Bunce couldn’t even get a game for Auckland. Joe Stanley played 80 minutes each week – with Craig Innes floating around too – and Bunce was barely good enough to get on the bench.
Had he not had the option of North Harbour, Bunce would never have been an All Black, let alone the very fine one he later became.
Things are different now. Players are substituted and rotated and they play within pods where six men – in the case of frontrowers – share matchday duties that were once the domain of just three.
Barrett doesn’t sound that thrilled to be playing fullback for the Blues.
With the greatest respect to Otere Black, Barrett probably feels he’s by far the better five-eighth of the two and there were strong hints at that in his comments following Saturday’s Blues loss to the Hurricanes. And while it’s fair for Barrett to feel that way, the problem is he’s done it to himself.
Had he sought to play from the get-go this year, he’d never have fallen victim to Black’s form or MacDonald’s whims.
So instead of stating that 10 is his “preferred’’ spot and that he can have more “influence” over games from there, Barrett should actually get used to being shunted out of position or even out of sides entirely.
Next year’s Japanese sabbatical will no doubt be great for Barrett’s brand – and bank account – but it will further diminish his standing back here.
Quite frankly, if the Blues view Black as a better bet at first five-eighth, then what hope does Barrett have of convincing the national selectors he’s the All Blacks’ best 10?
This is not an opportunity to debate Barrett’s merits as a rugby player. I have said several times that I believe him to be New Zealand’s best first-five and that I would have him start there every week.
But when the man makes rugby second to other aspects of his life and when he opts to sit out games or seasons, then he leaves himself vulnerable to the selectors’ axe. And, what’s more, when you decide not to play, you forfeit the right to have a preferred position and to feel peeved when you’re not picked there.
This one thing Beauden Barrett lacks on his CV is a Rugby World Cup title. Sure he was part of the 2015 squad, but squad is the operative word.
It wasn’t ‘his’ team. He wasn’t the 10, he wasn’t calling the shots. He wasn’t the man charged with the winning and losing of the tournament.
Events then conspired against him a little in 2019. Damian McKenzie, who’d established himself as the first-choice fullback, was injured and Ben Smith’s form fell off the edge of a cliff.
Someone had to play fullback and Barrett – the man whose team the 2019 side had seemed destined to be – was the best available candidate.
He’ll be 32 come the 2023 tournament and the more late starts he has to a season and the more sabbaticals he embarks on, the less likely it appears that All Blacks team will be ‘his’ either.
Maybe he’s content with that. Maybe he feels he’s scaled all the heights he’s going to and just wants a better work-life balance. To enjoy the fruits of his labour and to get set up for life after Super and test rugby.
That’s what made Saturday’s comments so interesting, particularly given how guarded Barrett can be. They spoke of a competitive bloke, tired of playing out of position and increasingly unimpressed at being written off by pundits.
Well, only Barrett can change that. Only he can create a situation where his selection at first five-eighth is assured.
Instead he’s signed a deal in Japan that’ll only weaken his grasp on all the No.10 jerseys back here.
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments