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Jordie Barrett: Leinster move to become 'a better All Black'
The Hurricanes will be without one of their biggest stars in 2025 thanks to a new deal between Jordie Barrett and European heavyweights Leinster, a signing that shocked the rugby world.
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The fullback-turned-second five-eighth signed the one-season deal with the Irish club as a sabbatical within the framework of a new, long-term contract with New Zealand Rugby which will see the youngest of the three All Black Barrett brothers remain in New Zealand past the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Kiwi fans are no longer strangers to the idea of sabbaticals removing big names from local competition for a season, but Barrett’s decision to pass up offers from Japan’s Rugby League One and look to Europe bucks the trend.
“My eyes were only ever heading towards Japan and having a wee stint there,” Barrett told Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine. “But, Leinster put an offer forward, and basically just the prestige of their club and what they’ve done in the past and the direction they’re heading in the future really stuck out and excited me.
“I feel like I should be playing some of my best rugby there. The challenge of playing Champions Cup and URC finals is something I’d love to walk towards and feel like it’ll grow my game.”
There were plenty of pros and cons to weigh up for Barrett, but ultimately, the opportunity to dive in the deep end and challenge himself was too good to turn down.
“There’s a bit of a balance. In the past, sabbaticals have been for All Blacks who have played X number of tests,” Barrett said. “It was almost time to re-energise and change the environment, just to come back and set yourself up better to add longevity to your career.
“That was the forefront of my decision as well, but I saw it as a great opportunity to go to a place where I believe I’ll come back a better rugby player.
“[Money] is certainly a serious component. For different individuals, that can be at the top of the tree or somewhere a little further down.
“I put my development and my experiences, and my thinking of coming back and trying to be a better rugby player and a better All Black and a better Hurricane, right at the top of that tree. That took priority over all the other options I had.”
Barrett talked about Leinster having “most of the Irish team” as well as “great coaches” as further incentives for the shift.
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The idea of that experience growing the 27-year-old as a player won over new All Blacks coach Scott “Razor” Robertson, who helped facilitate the signing.
“Razor was really good and really understanding and saw it through my eyes. Not many players go to Europe for their sabbatical so it was a different sort of discussion, but I’m grateful Razor and NZR agreed and put a plan in place for me.
“Carrying a little bit of hurt from the last World Cup, it’s motivating me and a lot of other boys to have a really good few years and set ourselves up to hopefully go one better in a few years’ time.
“It’s an interesting transition with new coaches and a lot of new players but I think it’s an exciting time for New Zealand rugby, and one I wanted to be part of.”
The contract signs the midfielder up for a busy schedule in 2024, with the URC season kicking off ahead of the End of Year Tours. Barrett would typically have an extended break over the Kiwi summer, returning to Hurricanes duties in mid-late January.
Within Super Rugby Pacific, All Blacks are also required to rest at least twice a season, a season which is significantly shorter than the one awaiting Barrett in Europe.
“There’s a big block in February-March [during the Six Nations] where I won’t be playing any rugby. Essentially that’s going to be my big break.
“It looks as though I’m just going rugby to rugby and there’s no break there, but I’ll be managed throughout the season.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
69 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
1 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
2 Go to commentsIt is crystal clear that people who make such threats on line should be tried and imprisoned. Those with responsibility in social media companies who don’t facilitate this should be convicted. In real life, I have free speech to approach someone like Reinach and verbally threaten him. I am risking a conviction or a slap but I could do it. In the old days, If someone anonymously threatened someone by letter the police would ask and use evidence from the postal system. Unlike the Post, social media companies have complete instant and legal access to the content in social media. They make money from the data, billions. Yet, they turn a blind eye to terrorism, Nazi-ism and industrial levels of threats against individuals including their address and childrens schools being published online all from ananoymous accounts not real people. They claim free speech. Free speech for anonymous trolls/voilent thugs threatening people under false names? The fault is with the perps but also social media companies who think anonymous personas posting death threats constitutes free speech.
2 Go to commentsSo if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
69 Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
2 Go to commentsOur very own monster teddy bear Ox😍💪
17 Go to commentsThis is might be the most generalised, entitled, patronising, out-of-pocket cultural indictment on a group of people you’ll ever see on what is supposedly a sports publication. I can only assume the author is weak like a woman or homosexual. I’m feeling an incredible range of emotions but I am not quite sure how to express them. I might go beat up a hockey player - assuming that’s okay with Duane and the boys? 🙂
9 Go to commentsBest thing the Welsh clubs could do is apply to join Gallagher prem surely be more exciting matches for there support than they have now.
2 Go to commentsRugbyPass writers are useless! you guys should get a real job because you all suck at writing about rugby!!!
9 Go to commentslooking forward to RWC2027 …. Boks on mission impossible for the Three-in-a-row, ABs to prove they being on par, France wishing to crown the “DuPont-era”, Ireland knocking on the Semi-Door ….. until then we’ll probably have to deal with Weird Ben’s fantasy-RWC23 (fun fact is, the drivel always creates a flooding of comments) …..
222 Go to commentsBen Smith you really make some good points in this article, the Springboks were not close to perfect and good still beat the All Blacks, imagine if they were as good as they were against France what a hiding the All Blacks would have gotten… maybe another Twickenham drubbing
222 Go to commentsIt is a good argument to keep the Rebels for one more year but also isnt this just opening the door as well for keeping them beyond 2025. If they can create some sort of financial stability in the next year and if their performances lift as they have this season then how would RA even cull them after that? It might be the most cost effective decision at this stage and perhaps many people are guilty of keeping relationships going because of the cost to decouple but then again when does that ever work out well?
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