Beauden Barrett delivers glowing review of 'freakish' Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Blues star Beauden Barrett has described new teammate Roger Tuivasa-Sheck as a “freakish” player as they duo prepare to lineup alongside each other for the first time.
Tuivasa-Sheck has been named to start at second-five, one place outside of first-five Barrett, for Saturday’s Super Round clash against the Fijian Drua at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
It will be the first time the two marquee players will start a match for the Blues together since Tuivasa-Sheck’s high-profile move to rugby union from the NRL ahead of this season, and Barrett said that’s a prospect he’s “very excited” for.
“I think we were all hanging out to see him with ball in hand last weekend, but it was a D-Day for Rog and the team in the last few minutes or 20 minutes,” Barrett said on Thursday of Tuivasa-Sheck’s fleeting bench cameo against the Crusaders last Friday.
“Hopefully we can give him plenty of ball and see what he can do.”
The Blues’ groundbreaking 27-23 win over the Crusaders in Christchurch a week ago was Tuivasa-Sheck’s first match for the Auckland-based franchise since recovering from a shoulder injury sustained against the Chiefs early last month.
The 28-year-old midfielder was barely sighted with ball in hand as the Blues spent the final minutes of the match relentlessly defending their lead, meaning this week’s match against the Drua is his first real chance to stamp his authority on proceedings.
Despite having only played three Super Rugby Pacific matches, many foresee Tuivasa-Sheck as an All Black selection later this year, and chatter about his ability, work ethic and professionalism from his colleagues have done little to quell those projections.
Blues wing Caleb Clarke and head coach Leon MacDonald are among those who have gone on record this season to wax lyrical about the 2018 Dally M Medallist, and Barrett added to that chorus of superlatives.
“His physical attributes are freakish,” the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year said.
“I’ve seen him do things that I haven’t seen before on the field, one-on-ones and things like that, but I’ve been really impressed with his professionalism and questions he asks and how much he actually knows about footy.
“I think a lot of people would be surprised about that. He’s clearly been watching a fair bit whilst playing for the Warriors and the Kiwis, so he’s already picked it up pretty quick. I’ve been impressed.
“He has a lot more time than, typically, those would playing 12. They’re making transition, and he is a bit more calculated and makes good decisions out there rather than just being a pure athlete with ball in hand. He’s, tactically, right up there.”
Not only will it be the first time that Barrett and Tuivasa-Sheck start a Blues match together this weekend, but it will also be the first time the former has captained the side since arriving from the Hurricanes two years ago.
Barrett has been handed the captaincy reins after MacDonald opted to give incumbent skipper Dalton Papalii a well-deserved week off following an immense performance against the Crusaders.
Barrett is hopeful of emulating Papalii’s performances as a leader after having previously captained the Hurricanes and All Blacks.
“He’s been going awesome, he’s been leading us really well, and, ultimately, I just want to lead by playing well,” Barrett said.
“I’m well-supported with the other leaders and the coaches in this group, so I’m just enjoying playing footy.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments