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Scott Barrett names the players he'd least like to meet at a ruck

Ethan Blackadder of the All Blacks (C) looks on during the International Test Match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Fiji at Forsyth Barr Stadium on July 10, 2021 in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

New All Blacks captain Scott Barrett has played against and alongside some all-time greats of the game, but he says two players in particular provide a physical edge around the breakdown.

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Barrett succeeded Sam Cane as All Blacks captain in 2024 after breaking up the iconic pairing of Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick in the second row ahead of last year’s Rugby World Cup.

The seven-time Super Rugby champion remembers Retallick’s impact on the game well, having felt the full force of the All Black centurion’s weight many a time on the pitch.

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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explains the process of becoming a Bok

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    Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explains the process of becoming a Bok

    The 30-year-old was asked who he’d least like to see at a ruck during a game and Retallick’s name was the first to come to mind.

    “I guess locally, or historically, it would be Brodie Retallick,” Barrett laughed on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

    “He’d just zero in on you. If you’re over the ball, that’s how he’s made his mark on the game; for some of his cleanouts. Especially earlier on in his career when you could tuck a shoulder a bit more. He’s very physical around the breakdown.

    “Probably in the current team, Ethan Blackadder. At the training park, he’s pretty heavy.

    “Probably with those two, if you’re committing to getting over the ball, you’re making sure you’re locking it down otherwise you’re getting spat out the back.”

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    The Crusaders captain has a longstanding relationship with new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson and was the favourite to land the captaincy for this next era.

    Barrett contributed heavily to the decision to appoint his brother, Jordie, and World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea as vice-captains for the team.

    The trio are arguably the only guaranteed starters for the All Blacks, who begin their season this weekend against England in Dunedin.

    With Barrett and Scott “Razor” Robertson at the helm, Kiwi hopes are high for what the team can achieve. Barrett outlined how the leadership group will operate.

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    “With Razor, I think he drives a lot of the philosophy, the culture stuff within the group and how you operate. Within that, you have key relationships with your coaches who drive different areas of the game,” he said.

    “I guess your role as captain is to trust the guys in their key positions, be it the players, your game drivers, your nines, 10s, your 15s, trust them to be able to influence on the ground, in the training park with their strategy alongside the coaches.

    “I guess that’s the beauty of the All Blacks, you’re surrounded by a group of talented guys, not just the players but coaches. Guys striving to be experts.”

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    Comments

    10 Comments
    B
    B.J. Spratt 274 days ago

    I would like to thank England for providing the All Blacks with a couple of warm up games before we play “The World Champions” South Africa.

    Mind you South Africa’s warm up games will be a bit harder.

    D
    David 275 days ago

    This Ethan Blackadder must be some player? The English will have no IP on him as he hasn't been sighted for ages. A cunning plan by Baldrick Ryan.

    G
    Graham 275 days ago

    Great interview with Scott Barrett. What he says about Ethan Blackadder is so right. That is why he should be in the team named tomorrow.

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    I
    IkeaBoy 24 minutes ago
    Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

    Pep didn’t win the ECL in 2009. It was 2008 with Barca. The gap between wins ignores the finals contested. 2 in 2 years with his City Triumph. The most recent put him in the elite company of managers to have won it with multiple clubs. Yet more late career success and history.


    His time with City - a lower win ratio compared to Bayern Munich as you say - includes a 100 PT season. A feat that will likely never be surpassed. I appreciate you don’t follow soccer too closely but even casual fans refer to the sport in ‘pre and post Pep’ terms and all because of what he has achieved and is continuing to achieve, late career. There is a reason that even U10’s play out from the back now at every level of the game. That’s also a fairly recent development.


    How refreshing to return to rugby on a rugby forum.


    Ireland won a long over due slam in 2009. The last embers of a golden generation was kicked on by a handful of young new players and a new senior coach. Kiss was brought in as defence coach and was the reason they won it. They’d the best defence in the game at the time. He all but invented the choke tackle. Fittingly they backed it up in the next world cup in their 2011 pool match against… Australia. The instantly iconic image of Will Genia getting rag-dolled by Stephen Ferris.


    His career since has even included director of rugby positions. He would have an extremely good idea of where the game is at and where it is going in addition to governance experience and dealings. Not least in Oz were many of the players will have come via or across Rugby League pathways.


    Gatland isn’t a valid coach to compare too. He only ever over-achieved and was barely schools level without Shaun Edwards at club or test level. His return to Wales simply exposed his limitations and a chaotic union. It wasn’t age.


    Schmidt is open to staying involved in a remote capacity which I think deserves more attention. It would be a brain drain to lose him. He stepped in to coach the ABs in the first 2022 test against Ireland when Foster was laid out with Covid. They mullered Ireland 42-19. He was still heavily involved in the RWC 2023 quarter final. Same story.


    Look at the talent that would be discarded in Schmidt and Kiss if your age Nazism was applied.

    169 Go to comments
    f
    fl 1 hour ago
    Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

    “He won a ECL and a domestic treble at the beginning of his career.”

    He won 2 ECLs at the beginning of his career (2009, 2011). Since then he’s won 1 in 15 years.


    “He then won 3 leagues on the bounce later in his career”

    He won 3 leagues on the bounce at the start of his career too - (2009, 2010, 2011).


    If we’re judging him by champions league wins, he peaked in his late 30s, early 40s. If we’re judging him by domestic titles he’s stayed pretty consistent over his career. If we’re judging him by overall win rate he peaked at Bayern, and was better at Barcelona than at City. So no, he hasn’t gotten better by every measure.


    “You mentioned coaches were older around the mid-2010’s compared to the mid-2000’s. Robson was well above the average age you’ve given for those periods even in the 90’s when in his pomp.”

    Robson was 63-64 when he was at Barcelona, so he wasn’t very old. But yeah, he was slightly above the average age of 60 I gave for the top 4 premier league coaches in 2015, and quite a bit above the averages for 2005 and 2025.


    “Also, comparing coaches - and their experiences, achievements - at different ages is unstable. It’s not a valid way to compare and tends to torpedo your own logic when you do compare them on equal terms. I can see why you don’t like doing it.”

    Well my logic certainly hasn’t been torpedoed. Currently the most successful premier league coaches right now are younger than they were ten years ago. You can throw all the nuance at it that you want, but that fact won’t change. It’s not even clear what comparing managers “on equal terms” would even mean, or why it would be relevant to anything I’ve said.


    “You still haven’t answered why Kiss could be a risker appointment?”

    Because I’ve been talking to you about football managers. If you want to change the subject then great - I care a lot more about rugby than I do football.

    But wrt Kiss, I don’t agree that 25 years experience is actually that useful, given what a different sport rugby was 25 years ago. Obviously in theory more experience can never be a bad thing, but I think 10 years of coaching experience is actually more than enough these days. Erasmus had been a coach for 13 years when he got the SA top job. Andy Farrell had been a coach for 9 when he got the Ireland job. I don’t think anyone would say that either of them were lacking in experience.


    Now - what about coaches who do have 25+ years experience? The clearest example of that would be Eddie Jones, who started coaching 31 years ago. He did pretty well everywhere he worked until around 2021 (when he was 61), when results with England hit a sharp decline. He similarly oversaw a terrible run with Australia, and currently isn’t doing a great job with Japan.

    Another example is Warren Gatland, who also started coaching full-time 31 years ago, after 5 years as a player-coach. Gatland did pretty well everywhere he went until 2020 (when he was 56), when he did a relatively poor job with the Chiefs, before doing a pretty poor job with the Lions, and then overseeing a genuine disaster with Wales. There are very few other examples, as most coaches retire or step back into lesser roles when they enter their 60s. Mick Byrne actually has 34 years experience in coaching (but only 23 years coaching in rugby) and at 66 he’s the oldest coach of a top 10 side, and he’s actually doing really well. He goes to show that you can continue to be a good coach well into your 60s, but he seems like an outlier.


    So the point is - right now, Les Kiss looks like a pretty reliable option, but 5 years ago so did Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland before they went on to prove that coaches often decline as they get older. If Australia want Kiss as a short term appointment to take over after Schmidt leaves in the summer, I don’t think that would be a terrible idea - but NB wanted Kiss as a long term appointment starting in 2027! That’s a massive risk, given the chance that his aptitude will begin to decline.


    Its kind of analagous to how players decline. We know (for example) that a fly-half can still be world class at 38, but we also know that most fly-halves peak in their mid-to-late 20s, so it is generally considered a risk to build your game plan around someone much older than that.

    169 Go to comments
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