'He's a wizard': Blues captain on 144-Test playmaker’s performance

Blues captain Dalton Papali’i was full of praise for 144-Test All Black first-five Beauden Barrett, after his experience helped the Blues overcome the Crusaders at Eden Park.

All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke was a standout on Saturday evening, scoring a hat-trick with ease during the first 50 minutes of action in Auckland.

Barrett’s kicking around the paddock and off the tee also proved to be a key addition to the Blues’ armour for the round four clash.

Papali’i, who recently became a Blues centurion in his final year at the Super Rugby franchise, told Sky Sport NZ post-match that Barrett’s influence on and off the park was crucial.

“He’s a wizard, he’s a true player of the game and a student of the game,” Papali’i said.

“And he’s also so awesome, he comes into the environment and when he speaks, everyone listens, the aura he brings into the team is just massive.

“It sort of lifts when you have a player like that out there. You know, he’s a bit of a fossil, but he’s still running out there pretty good.”

Cotter echoed Papali’i’s thoughts, but also acknowledged the work that injured first-five Stephen Perofeta has done in recent weeks.

Perofeta was a late scratching for the round four clash, with a minor issue in the same calf he had previously injured.

When the team was released, Barrett was originally on the bench for the Crusaders encounter, but inflammation in Perofeta’s calf late in the week forced Cotter and his coaching staff to make the change.

“Yeah, no Beauden’s been training when we were in Australia, but he was training with our A team,” Cotter told reporters at Eden Park.

“He’s been about and Stephen Perofeta has done an amazing job as well, saving those two players. But having Stevie go down at last minute, having Beauden step up, I mean, that’s awesome.

“And then he gave the team confidence. He’s a leader, he’s a natural leader of the game and you saw that out there again tonight, so it was awesome.”