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Scott and Jordie Barrett set for long-awaited Taranaki debuts as Bulls name experienced squad
The Barrett brothers, Beauden, Scott and Jordie, are arguably three of the greatest ever rugby exports out of Taranaki. Finally, after an exceptionally long wait, the youngest two brothers will now have the opportunity to lace up their boots for their home province in the Mitre 10 Cup.
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Scott and Jordie both started their provincial careers with Canterbury, having moved south at the end of high school to attend Lincoln University. The pair both signed with Taranaki from 2017 but, with national representatives rarely granted opportunities to play in New Zealand’s provincial competition, neither has been sighted in the amber and black jersey as yet.
That’s set to change this year, with All Blacks to be available for their local teams for at least a couple of matches during the early stages of the Mitre 10 Cup.
“The other day, I was actually sitting there thinking about the team [Taranaki] would have and playing with my two brothers… So that’d be pretty cool, I reckon,” Jordie told RugbyPass earlier this year.
“Last year I think there was a period where I didn’t play a game for six weeks. That was when I was in the ABs environment and, obviously, you can’t argue with their planning and they’ve got their way of thinking.
“At the time, Mitre 10 Cup was going on and you just want to be back with your province and playing some footy. So, any opportunity anyone gets to play for their province, they love it. I’d certanly snap at the opportunity to play for Taranaki this year.”
Jordie’s wish has evidently been granted and with he and Scott set to earn their Taranaki debuts – and Beauden likely to play his first game for the Bulls since 2012 – the 2014 champions will have plenty of experience in their squad for the season ahead.
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While no player named in Willie Rickards’ team has played a half-century of matches for Taranaki, there’s a strong Super Rugby presence in the squad, with 17 players turning out for the five franchises across the country over the past year.
That includes Ben May, who’s signed with Taranaki for the first time, having previously represented Tasman, Waikato, Wellington and Hawke’s Bay. May, sitting on over 90 provincial and 120 Super Rugby caps, will complement Ricky Riccitelli and Bradley Slater’s experience in the front row, with a raft of young props also selected – as well as All Blacks tourist Reuben O’Neill and Samoan representative Donald Brighouse.
Three of the out-and-out locks in the squad have recently been selected for the New Zealand Under 20s side, including Tupou Vaa’i, who is set to start for the North Island side in this weekend’s North v South exhibition. Vaa’i could be partnered with fellow Chief Mitch Brown for the season but keep an eye out for young gun Josh Lord. Scott Barrett is still sidelined with a foot injury and in a worst-case scenario, could miss the entire season. If he does recover in time for the international matches, however, All Blacks coach Ian Foster would likely use the Mitre 10 Cup to get the big man up to speed.
The loose forwards are again a position of strength for Taranaki. The Chiefs trio of Brown, Lachlan Boshier and Pita Gus Sowakula will be expected to get through a mountain of work but Tom Florence, who earned a solitary cap for the Highlanders this season, and Kaylum Boshier (Lachlan’s younger brother) have both impressed through the age-grades.
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With Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi now with Bay of Plenty, Lisati Milo-Harris will compete with the experienced Kylem O’Donnell for the starting halfback role.
Re-signing with @HurricanesRugby was an easy decision for Jordie Barrett but the original move north from Canterbury took some guts.
The @AllBlacks utility spoke to @TomVinicombe about why he rebuked Scott Robertson. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #AllBlackshttps://t.co/7dQvggYiwb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 10, 2020
Daniel Waite is the sole fulltime first-five named in the team – but Rickards could opt to start a number of players in that role, including either of the two Barretts, Jayson Potroz or Stephen Perofeta, once he’s fit again.
Further out, Taranaki stalwarts such as Codey Rei, Sean Wainui and Teihorangi Walden will be shuffled throughout the backline while Kini Naholo will provide some power and pace on the wing, though he is currently recovering from surgey.
Young Jacob Kneepkens, who played in last year’s NZ secondary schools team, is another outside back that could shine this season, with a bit of support from the experienced heads in the squad.
Taranaki play a pre-season match against Waikato this Friday but kick their regular season off against Bay of Plenty on Sunday 13 September.
Taranaki squad:
Hookers: Mills Sanerivi, Ricky Riccitelli, Bradley Slater
Props: Ben May, Donald Brighouse, Chris Gawler, Reuben O’Neill, Jared Proffit
Locks: Scott Barrett, Jack Jordan, Fin Hoeata, Josh Lord, Tupou Vaa’i
Loose forwards: Lachlan Boshier, Kaylum Boshier, Mitch Brown, Johnny Faletagoa’i, Tom Florence, Pita Gus Sowakula
Halfbacks: Warwick Lahmert, Lisati Milo-Harris, Kylem O’Donnell
First fives: Beauden Barrett, Daniel Waite, Stephen Perofeta
Centres: Lukas Halls, Teihorangi Walden, Sean Wainui, Jacob Kneepkens, Lewis Ormond
Outside backs: Jordie Barrett, Brayton Northcott-Hill, Kini Naholo, Jayson Potroz, Cody Rei
Comments on RugbyPass
What was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
27 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
27 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
27 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to comments