Ian Foster explains why Scott Barrett has been picked at No 6
Crusaders lock Scott Barrett has been named at No 6 for the All Blacks for the first time since the 2019 semi-final defeat to England as they prepare to face Ireland in the first test.
The All Blacks options at blindside were rather thin in the squad, with one specialist at the position in Akira Ioane and versatile options like Pita Gus Sowakula and Tupou Vaa’i who cover another back row position.
The selection of Barrett was a bold move by Foster which will bolster the line out to combat a handful of tall Irish targets like Caelen Doris and Jack Conan in the loose forwards.
Defending his selection, Foster said that he knows Barrett can play there and is bringing some of his best form into this test series after a successful Super Rugby Pacific campaign with the Crusaders.
“[It’s the] first time he’s started for us there, but he’s filled in a couple of times there,” Foster said.
“He’s also played for the Crusaders there. We know that he can do it.
“He’s one of the form players in Super Rugby in the last four to six weeks. He’s on top of his game.”
Barrett’s stint at No 6 against England in the fateful semi-final didn’t play out the way the coaches had planned as the All Black lineout couldn’t stop England on the night, leading to an early substitution for the Crusaders’ captain.
Foster explained that the lessons from that game have been taken on board and he didn’t dwell too long on the call to play Barrett at blindside once again.
The All Blacks head coach believed the positives outweigh the risks with Barrett bringing some of the best ball carrying in the country to the table.
“I didn’t spend too long thinking about the 2019 game,” he said.
“But we took some lessons from that, they were learned a long time ago.
“This one, we’re very clear about the strategy. It’s something we’ve talked to Scott about this possibility.
“If we look at the positives of it, apart from his set piece acumen – we know how good he is in that space – he’s also bringing a bruising defence and ball-carrying part to his game now.
“He’s probably our most dynamic lock ball carrier at the moment. We can utilise that at No.6.
“So there’s some things that even if you sit down with Scott and talk to him about it, he finds a lot of the roles very similar now, except for a couple of defensive tweaks that we’ve had to make sure we tidy up.”
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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