Beau's Plan - What Carlos can bring to Beauden's game
The King has returned.
The Blues best ever first five has returned to his hometown franchise – the Levin-born playmaker will join the Hurricanes coaching staff as an assistant in 2019. There he will be in a position to work with and mentor the Hurricanes best ever 10, Beauden Barrett.
It is an intriguing partnership that can help Barrett’s game evolve and remain at a high level during his late twenties – he will be 27-years-old at the end of the month. It is inevitable that he will lose some of the speed that makes him the world’s most dangerous player over the next couple years.
The Hurricanes pivot hasn’t been playing at the superhuman level he reached during 2016 and 2017. His timing on the pass can be off at times. He’s running more but breaking the line, and tackles, less. His most valuable asset is still his innate ability to score against the run of play – he has a sixth sense for an opportunist try and seems to know where the ball will bounce. This special vision can change a game, even when things aren’t going to plan.
The mentorship of Carlos will hopefully round out Barrett’s game, to become more of a playmaker out of the hand with the pass, where he can manipulate defenders and put others away. If he can develop a supreme passing game while still at his peak physically, there’s will be no stopping him. If he can do it over the next few years, he could well be a force in Super Rugby well into his thirties.
Deep/flat
Barrett has become distribution-centric in the Hurricanes system, mapping phases across the field in methodical fashion. He has a set role within the 1-3-3-1 that usually involves providing a back door option for the first pod and then linking the second pod from first receiver.
His brilliance usually comes from counter attack and against the run of play, while simply facilitating ball movement during phases.
Often at first receiver he is so deep the team doesn’t make the gain line. There seems to be little care factor as to whether the midfield ruck makes a net loss. The Hurricanes rely more on the speed of the recycle to create space for the next phase. If they can generate a one-second ruck it allows Barrett to flatten up and ball play on the third phase with the rest of his backline
Although there is one reason for the deep set up – the kick-pass. This has become Barrett’s signature go-to for killing teams with exposed 15-metre channels. Being so deep keeps the kick-pass open at all times. Barrett can assess the line speed, hear the call or see the space wide and make the kick.
He may have one chance every three phases to play at the line, and that’s if they don’t release the backs on the swivel pass during the second phase or play any short sides switches off Perenara off the first. In all likelihood, it might be one in eight phases under the current gameplan where he has an opportunity to attack the line.
This can be expanded with small tweaks – using the swivel on the first phase more, becoming more diverse at first receiver allowing Barrett to pop up elsewhere or attaching a blind winger to Barrett’s hip at first receiver on the second phase.
There are times where it seems he just has to facilitate, giving him a range of options allows for more playmaking. With Carlos’s tutorship on some of the finer details of deceptive trickery and an increase of in the number of situations Beauden can deploy them, we could see him open up teams more from phase play.
Set Piece
However, the current role Barrett has during phase play works – he is able to facilitate the distribution of the ball and get it in the hands of the power backs like Laumape and Aso early. The number one area of the game set for playmaking growth in Barrett’s game is the set piece.
Currently playmaking duties from the set piece are shared with TJ Perenara, who offers another option for the Hurricanes. A number of the play designs often involved the halfback making the read on the run, with Barrett sweeping out the back. Along with TJ, Laumape also receives a high number of carries from the scrum to utilise his bulldozing power.
On the few times the play allows for Barrett to attack the line and have option runners, there hasn’t been much success. Often these plays result in a negative one – the ball on the ground or turnovers. This is a significant area of the game that Carlos will be able to provide help, not just Barrett but the whole Hurricanes backline. They have not been efficient at manipulating the defence to create gaps for their runners on strike plays.
Barrett’s playmaking is set to improve under Spencer’s guidance, and with his running game due to decline over the next few seasons, the addition could prove a masterstroke.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Farcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to comments