'We have to celebrate': Revenge served for Beauden Barrett in 'brutal' quarter-final
Beauden Barrett silenced doubters in a terrific quarter-final performance against Ireland. Having made no secret of his desire for revenge against the team that bested New Zealand in a three-game series last June, victory tasted extra sweet for the 32-year-old.
Criticisms of the first five-eighth-turned fullback’s kicking game have been left in the pool stages as Barrett’s game-driving delivered favourable field position and crucial attacking opportunities throughout all 80 minutes of the match.
Named in the 22 jersey, Damian McKenzie, along with halfback replacement Finlay Christie, was forced to watch the dramatic dying moments from the sideline as head coach Ian Foster backed the fitness of his starters to deliver in a tense final quarter.
Spurred on by the memory and lingering emotion of that famous Steinlager Series defeat, Barrett and the All Blacks delivered a complete performance.
“Absolutely,” Barrett stated on Sky Sport when queried if the win was extra special given last year’s results. “There was plenty of fuel from last year’s home series loss and that really hurt. That’s been driving a lot of us throughout this whole week, if not this year.
“We knew that there’s a quarter-final against either Ireland or South Africa, if we did well in the pool stages and we got our chance tonight.”
The nature of the match was fierce and a clear display of New Zealand’s growth over the past 15 months since the Steinlager Series. Vastly improved discipline, breakdown accuracy and set piece performance were all tested and withstood the Irish muscle.
Barrett credited his forwards for their work and the team’s resilient mentality in overcoming any adversity the match threw their way.
“It was brutal, win or go home and we knew what it meant. It showed in the last few seconds, however many phases it took to finally finish that game.
“It’s been a huge week, the preparation has been bone-deep. There was just so much on it.
“A lot of trust and belief will come from this performance and we worked hard for that during the week. What we saw out there in those dying minutes are what we were working hard on during the week, defending multi-phase. They’re a quality team.
“There was some problem-solving to do, our scrum was huge. Not having to put a back on the side of the scrum when we had the ball in hand was great for us, we even got a scrum penalty at one time.
“Aaron (Smith), when he got yellow carded he said he wasn’t going to be defined by that, he came on and defended his heart out in those dying stages.
“We showed a lot of ticker, a lot of trust in those throughout the whole game to be fair. They’re a quality team and we respected them a lot.”
On the eve of the match, All Blacks great Sean Fitzpatrick compared the quarter-final to 2019’s semi-final, in which the All Blacks lost and were then sent to play Wales for the Bronze medal.
He observed that the All Blacks were more familiar with the Irish team than they were against England, offering a significant advantage compared to 2019’s shortcoming.
Barrett also reflected on learnings from 2019 after the match, emphasising the importance of celebrating the quarter-final win.
“We have to celebrate tonight and really get around each other and enjoy this win.
“We can’t get on next week’s wave too quick because that’s what we learned last World Cup. We’ve got to build slowly and make sure we bring the intensity this time next week.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Hard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
2 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
2 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
237 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to comments