Blues issue update on Beauden Barrett's concussion and All Blacks availability
The Blues will have their full complement of All Blacks to pick from when they open the inaugural season of Super Rugby Pacific next month.
Blues head coach Leon MacDonald confirmed to media on Tuesday that the Auckland-based franchise will have all their All Blacks available for selection in the new competition’s opening match of round one.
That should have Moana Pasifika, one of two new expansions franchises, on edge ahead of their Super Rugby debut against their cross-town rivals at Mt Smart Stadium on February 18 given the talent the Blues have at their disposal.
All up, the Blues have nine players – Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Akira Ioane, Dalton Papalii, Nepo Laulala, Ofa Tuungafasi, Hoskins Sotutu, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Finlay Christie – who featured for the All Blacks last year.
A further three players – Caleb Clarke, Luke Romano and Alex Hodgman – are also capped by the All Blacks, while ex-NRL star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is primed to be unleashed by the Blues as soon as the season gets underway.
That’s not even taking into account the fringe All Blacks and long-term prospects, such as Tom Robinson and Anton Segner, on deck at the Blues, making the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman champions a fearsome outfit when at full-strength.
In their first-ever Super Rugby fixture, Moana Pasifika are set to be the first side to feel the wrath of the star-studded Blues this season as MacDonald revealed all of last year’s All Blacks will be free to play from the get-go.
“Their first game will be round one, other than Hoskins, who’s available for the last pre-season [against the Chiefs in Te Puke on February 11],” MacDonald said before adding that the fitness of his side’s All Blacks will be monitored throughout pre-season.
“[Who plays in round one depends] on their previous load from last year and little niggles or injuries or just where they’re at in their conditioning.
“If they miss the jump a little bit, we might take a little bit more time to get them up to speed. If they’re raring to go, then we’ll be considering them for round one.”
As has been the case in recent seasons, those who played for the All Blacks the year beforehand have been granted extensive leave from Super Rugby pre-season training, with Kiwi internationals not expected to return until early February.
However, numerous All Blacks were sighted at Blues training on Tuesday as MacDonald outlined they had been invited to practice with their teammates to help keep themselves in shape without feeling isolated by training on their own.
“They’re back via invite. It’s not compulsory by any means,” MacDonald said.
“It’s just starting to feel like rugby’s around the corner and they’re probably sick of running by themselves and missing the boys and want to get the ball in their hands, so the message is they’re always welcome to our trainings and they can do as much or little as they want.
“They can train off to the side, but we love having them around. They’re part of the team and part of our culture as well, so having them here’s fantastic.”
One player who was noticeably absent, though, was star playmaker Beauden Barrett, who returns to the Blues in 2022 after taking last season off to join Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath on a season-long sabbatical.
Barrett was last week reported to still be suffering from concussion symptoms after sustaining a head knock while playing for the All Blacks in their 29-20 defeat to Ireland during last November’s Autumn Nations Series.
The two-time World Rugby Player of the Year was subsequently ruled out from New Zealand’s season-ending loss to France the following week, and said last week that he is “still getting over a few ongoing issues” from his concussion.
Barrett’s comments did little to dismay MacDonald, though, as he said he expects the All Blacks centurion to return to the franchise in the coming weeks.
“Beauden, he’s not here with us at the moment. He’s taking a bit of extra time, and I know he’s fit, he’s been looking after his body, and it was a busy year for him last year, and we’ll see him starting to come through the gates at some point soon, I think.”
In saying that, MacDonald – who is well-aware of the pitfalls of concussions from his own playing career – was reluctant to put a timeframe on Barrett’s playing return, even though he is pencilled in to be free for selection against Moana Pasifika.
“It’s hard to be concrete around anything with concussions, but everything’s trending the right way. He’s getting better, which is the main thing,” MacDonald said.
“He’s really positive in his own mind, and that’s another key point, so it’s all looking really positive, but, like I said, it’s such a hard thing to predict sometimes, so we don’t want to get hung up on those sort of things.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to comments