Watch: Beauden Barrett's top 10 plays of the Super Rugby season
Back-to-back World Rugby Player of the Year Beauden Barrett had another top season with the Hurricanes in 2018, helping the side reach the semi-finals for the fourth season in a row. They fell just short of making their third final in four years, falling to the Crusaders in Christchurch.
With the Hurricanes now heading into their off-season, RugbyPass reviews Barrett’s top 10 plays of the season.
10. Scrambling exit kick vs Jaguares
What makes a world-class 10 is the extra effort plays, the decisions, and the one percenters.
This recovery play by Barrett against the Jaguares showed both extraordinary skill and execution, getting the Hurricanes out of a sticky situation. Scrambling back to cover a driving Jaguares kick off a turnover, Barrett picks up the ball on the bounce and looks to get a good position for a right-footed kick to the far touchline.
With Jaguares winger pressing, he quickly decelerates, swiveling on the spot before dropping it onto the left foot for a booming exit kick that finds touch on halfway on the other side.
To nail an exit kick off the wrong foot under pressure is a tremendous piece of play, and worthy of making this list of top 10 plays at number 10.
9. Kicking duel vs Chiefs
Over the past few seasons, Barrett’s out-of-hand kicking has become an integral part of the Hurricanes’ success.
His ability to dictate terms from the back has often led to territorial gains for his side and has also opened up counter-attacking opportunities. Here against the Chiefs at home was one of his best moments from the back.
Again off his unnatural left foot, Barrett drives a raking kick down to the Chiefs five, forcing Charlie Ngatai to clear with a bad angle. His return kick finds Barrett at the back with room to run, and he puts the foot down to swerve through the Chiefs defence. A last-ditch grubber fails to find Vince Aso and rolls over the sideline.
If this grubber kick had found the mark and led to a try this would be a lot higher on the list, but even so, the net gain for the Hurricanes put the Chiefs deep on their own line. Barrett won the kicking duel and created a scoring opportunity.
8. Spectator intercept vs Rebels
Barrett missed out on scoring this brilliant heads-up try against the Rebels due to a teammate’s previous indiscretion but that doesn’t stop it being a highly impressive piece of skill.
Defending at fullback, Barrett rushes up to take the last man as the defensive system dictates. Facing a two-on-one he reads Jack Maddocks and plays for the pass, getting a tip before reigning in the ball after a few bobbles. If not for advantage being played in the Rebels favour, this would’ve been one of Barrett’s best tries.
The intercept negated a promising Rebels opportunity, still providing some impact to his side.
7. Set-piece fun vs Sunwolves
A favourite play the Hurricanes run is to give Barrett a running opportunity with direct ball off the scrum. He has scored countless times from this setup, giving sliding defence headaches.
On this occasion, a sharp step off the left foot beats the covering halfback easily, before an offload in the tackle draws in two defenders. His pass finds Finlay Christie backing up on the inside who goes over for his first Super Rugby try. A smart piece of work by Barrett and one of his best assists of the year.
6. Beauden Barrett vs Sam Whitelock
It’s not often you see a 10 bump off one of the biggest men in the game which is why this explosive piece of contact from Barrett makes the list.
Sam Whitelock doesn’t usually come off second best, but Barrett’s slight late change of angle puts him in an awkward position. Barrett wins the collision and spins through another tackle attempt by Matt Todd. Whitelock was eventually removed from the field for an HIA, which he failed.
Fortunately, the inspirational Crusader recovered from his concussion injury to help lead the Crusaders all the way to the Super Rugby final.
5. Pin-point defensive bomb vs. Rebels
One new aspect of the Hurricanes gameplan and Barrett’s game by extension was the defensive bomb.
An addition to the variety of exit strategies was the newly implemented tactic. The kick has a similar net gain to a box kick, with a contestable ball for the openside winger. In Round 7 against the Rebels, Barrett hoisted one in the air that came down millimetres inside the touchline, bouncing fortuitously for winger Ben Lam.
Whilst there was a significant amount of good fortune on this play, it was still stunning nonetheless.
4. Barrett’s Tekkers against the Highlanders
Barrett’s knack of anticipating the bounce of the ball is almost superhuman. His ability to pull off a big play against the run of play was on show again against the Highlanders at home in a derby clash.
A short grubber by Rob Thompson was toed ahead again by Ben Smith. Barrett, racing up from fullback, blocks Smith’s kick with an outstretched left foot before kicking it upward with his right foot before it hits the ground. The ball floats up perfectly into his grasp and he snatches it, swerves around Aaron Smith and heads the other way for the first try of the match in an outstanding play.
3. Scoop’n’score vs. the Chiefs
Another opportunist try came against the Chiefs in the home derby at a critical point in the match, with the Hurricanes holding a slim 10-6 lead.
Ben Lam does a great job of forcing a loose pass from Sean Wainui in the tackle. The loose ball is scooped up by a flying Barrett from around his ankles at full speed. With Brodie Retallick closing down on him with the better angle, he puts the ball ahead with a grubber kick before just beating him to the chase with a diving finish.
An incredible turn of play with a range of top-level skills on show by Barrett.
2. Quick lineout NFL style
This stunning NFL-style heave from a quick lineout led to a massive Hurricanes line break.
Barrett grabs the ball and restarts play quickly with a massive one-handed quarterback throw, finding Ben Lam in the middle of the field who breaks a tackle and heads off downfield. The movement ends when Jordie Barrett is tackled inside the 22 by a brilliant cover tackle by Solomon Alaimalo, saving a try.
The massive swing in momentum occurred directly after a Chiefs break down the left-hand side which was only nullified by Barrett getting enough contact on Solomon Alaimalo to put him into touch.
Barrett showed once again you can never let your guard down when he is on the field.
1. Freakish juggling intercept and flick pass vs the Blues
Barrett’s top play of the Super Rugby 2018 season has to be this ridiculous intercept and flick pass against the Blues in Round 17.
From 20-metres away, Barrett sprints off the line to grab this cutout pass from the top of the lineout. He manages to get a fingertip underneath to propel it upwards, before pulling it in. With eyes in the back of his head, he anticipates Ngani Laumape running underneath and flicks a no-look pass out the back to find him in full stride.
The superlatives have already been written about this play enough times over. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Comments on RugbyPass
Very unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to comments