Beauden Barrett has done the right thing leaving the Hurricanes tight five behind
There’s no doubt Beauden Barrett has done the right thing.
Leaving the Hurricanes was obviously as much about lifestyle and commercial opportunities as it was about football. But rugby surely played a part too and that decision was vindicated on Sunday.
Barrett can look back on his Hurricanes career with enormous pride, as a father-son player, centurion and Super Rugby title-winner. But having done so much of that off the back foot, Barrett must now love being a Blue.
The final score of 30-20 at Eden Park didn’t do the Blues’ dominance justice. Truth is they handled the Hurricanes with ease, comfortably taming a team who would’ve come north desperate to ruin Barrett’s Blues debut.
Television commentator Tony Johnson made mention of the Hurricanes and Blues meeting in Super Rugby’s inaugural match, way back in 1996.
The Blues have had a pretty up and down time in between, but now look capable of returning to those glory days of yore when men such as Olo Brown, Sean Fitzpatrick, Craig Dowd, Michael Jones and Zinzan and Robin Brooke dismantled visiting forward packs for fun.
The Hurricanes – as they pretty much always have been – remain a carbon copy of that 1996 side. Plenty of potential and talented individuals, but rarely a tight-five capable of functioning under pressure or against credible opposition.
It’s no newsflash, for instance, that the Blues lost their way for a few years there. Just as we’re all aware that the Highlanders now lack experience and are rebuilding a bit.
But the Hurricanes have always been deficient in the one area and don’t ever seem destined to put that right. There’s been times – thanks in no small part to the heroics of men such as Barrett – when they’ve risen above those issues, yet they remain a team that just can’t cut it up front.
You don’t want to round on or condemn individuals. The Hurricanes forwards who played at Eden Park on Sunday all tried their best, it’s just strange that any number of coaching and management regimes over the last 25 years have failed to recognise or rectify the team’s one glaring weakness.
That doesn’t diminish the performance of Sunday’s victors, though.
Even without the injured Karl Tu’inukuafe, the Blues had no trouble at scrum time and dominated the lineouts. It didn’t help the Hurricanes that their most-reliable lineout forward – Vaea Fifita – was a late scratching, even if he had only been picked on the reserves’ bench.
But it was in general play where the Blues’ superior strength really showed.
Ball, as we’re seeing, is hard to recycle well and quickly. It helps if you’re pushing over the gainline, though, as the Blues’ ball-runners did time and again.
Men such as No.8 Hoskins Sotutu, inspirational captain Patrick Tuipulotu and tighthead prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi dominated the collisions and allowed first five-eighth Otere Black time to dictate terms.
Black’s an interesting one, you know. Yes, there’s that whole narrative around Barrett and Daniel Carter being in the squad and yet Black (at least for now) being the man they want at 10.
More fascinating, though, is the Hurricanes’ angle in all this.
They knew for a long time that Barrett was going. Whether it be just the odd season-long sabbatical or somewhere else entirely, they were preparing for life without him as the regular first-five.
Black had been the man destined to replace Barrett only, at some point, the Hurricanes lost heart. Black wasn’t quite making the progress they’d hoped, or even playing that well for Manawatu, and there was a feeling that the Blues could have him.
Fletcher Smith was drafted in and Jackson Garden-Bachop around and available and here we are, with Black dictating games behind a dominant pack and Smith unable to regularly crack the Hurricanes’ top 23.
Barrett, meanwhile, was able to slip quietly onto the Super Rugby Aotearoa stage. Not required to conjure miracles, or even drive the Blues around the park, he could just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Barrett – and Black for that matter – might always be Hurricanes in their hearts, but rugby is surely a lot more fun alongside a quality pack of forwards.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments