Dave Rennie on Beauden Barrett: 'People out there thinking he's past it'

There were no Scotland defenders in sight as Beauden Barrett dotted down for a double at Murrayfield on Saturday evening in Edinburgh, scoring his 49th and 50th Test tries for the All Blacks.

The 148-Test veteran, who has now equalled Richie McCaw’s Test appearances, strolled in on two occasions against Scotland thanks to two try-assists from All Blacks first-five Damian McKenzie.

Barrett’s first of the Nations Championship contest came from the All Blacks building pressure inside the 22, on the 30-minute mark. Roigard flung a pass to McKenzie, who weighed up his options, firing a beautifully weighted pass to Barrett, who was running a direct line through Scotland’s defence.

The playmaker’s second finish was from a sweeping backline move, where McKenzie once again found his fullback in space, this time to extend the lead to 15 points.

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie made it clear that despite doubts around his form by some of the public, Barrett’s standing within the group hasn’t changed.

“Yeah, look, everything we know about Beauden, I know there are people out there thinking that he’s past it, but he’s in an environment here where we really value his experience,” Rennie admitted post-match.

“He’s a true professional. Like everyone wants to play, and even when he’s not playing, it’s hurting. He’s doing everything he can to help others and prepare the team well. And what we were confident in was that if he got his opportunity, he’d bar up in front.

Rennie explained that it’s not Barrett’s only good performance this season, as they were impressed with him during the midweek matches in South Africa.

“And he played well at 15 for us, in a couple of the provincial games in South Africa. So, obviously, it’s the reason we’ve left him at 15 and played Damian McKenzie at 10.

“He’s been excellent, and I’m really rapt for him. He’s an important part of this group, and nice that he’s playing well as well.”

 

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The All Blacks head coach was full of praise for Beauden’s younger brothers, Jordie and Scott, with the latter adding what Rennie’s side missed during their four-Test series against the Springboks.

“Yeah, no, it’s been awesome [to have Scott back]. He’s just got a big engine, a lot of unseen stuff around tackle and carry and clean, barge, which is our sort of counter–ruck type thing. So he’s been great.

“I thought Fabian also had a big game again tonight, and both the big men are going 80. So we’ve got a number of second rows who got big engines and can play 80 minutes, which is a bonus for us.”