Why Jordie Barrett turned down the Crusaders: 'Sitting down in the room with him was like walking down to the principal's office'
When it came time for Jordie Barrett to make a decision about where he wanted to play Super Rugby, it’s fair to say that the talented Taranaki-man could have picked any side in New Zealand and been welcomed with open arms.
Off the back of some excellent performances for the New Zealand Under 20 side in 2016 and half a season of Mitre 10 Cup, Barrett was a hot product. Already, the world had seen what older brother Beauden was capable of and the rumours were that Jordie was an even more promising talent.
The Chiefs and Crusaders chased Barrett’s signature hard but it was the Hurricanes who won out in the end – despite Barrett enjoying a stellar season playing alongside brother Scott at Canterbury. Canterbury head honcho Scott Robertson had also been Barrett’s coach with the Under 20s but that wasn’t enough to keep the up-and-coming talent in Christchurch.
It did make the youngest Barrett brother’s decision incredibly difficult, however.
“I’d just finished the season playing with Scott in the Mitre 10 Cup with Canterbury and I’d enjoyed that massively so it was bloody hard telling him that I wanted to go play for the Canes,” Barrett told RugbyPass.
“But now that I think about it, Razor was actually the toughest conversation. Sitting down in the room with him was like walking down to the principal’s office and telling him I’d done something wrong but in the end, it was just a decision I made and the reason it was so hard is because we had such a good relationship.
“He taught me so much through the couple of years that I’d been down in Canterbury and the hard thing about going back to Wellington was I knew certain skills that Razor had, I was going to lose in that way. In saying that, I knew I was going up to some good coaches with Boydie [Former Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd] and John Plumtree and a lot of good players in Wellington.
“There were a couple of other reasons behind it. I was 19 at the stage and, to be honest, I was kind of still fanboying the Hurricanes. They’re the team I grew up supporting my whole life and if I’d known at 10 years old that I would have the opportunity to play for the Canes, I would have taken it just like that.
Playing for the Hurricanes would also give Barrett the opportunity to link up with Beauden while being based in Wellington would mean Barrett was closer to the family in Taranaki.
“It’s a little bit closer to home. I enjoy, when I’ve got a couple of days off, driving back up to the Naki to the farm and spending some time at home so that was another big reason for it.”
Of course, the Taranaki region has been aligned with the Chiefs since 2013, not the Hurricanes – but that change of allegiances hasn’t quite been adopted by the slightly older locals.
“It’s a bit bizarre,” Barrett admitted regarding Taranaki’s new ties. “When I was a wee ticker, everyone was running around in Hurricanes shorts and Hurricanes jerseys but now it’s a different generation. All the young kids are running around in Chiefs jerseys and you feel like you’re not at home anymore.
“There’s a good number still supporting the Canes – the loyal ones,” Barrett joked.
Only a select group of men get the chance to don the #AllBlacks' 11 &10 jerseys – fewer still get the chance to wear both.
Jordie Barrett revealed to @TomVinicombe the moment he realised how important the number on your back is when you're playing for NZ.https://t.co/u32WecYgJZ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 21, 2020
“I think at the start, when it was fresh, there was a wee bit of conflict, but I think it’s long enough down the track now that people just got used to it. Especially the way Super Rugby’s going, nowadays you’ve got people from all different provinces. It doesn’t seem to worry people too much anymore – normally only in the weeks where two franchises play each other.”
Barrett inked a new contract with New Zealand Rugby last year that will keep him in the country until the next World Cup in 2023 but had the option to part ways with the Hurricanes following this year’s Super Rugby season.
“Last year when, there was still a little bit of uncertainty when I signed, just with Scott being in Christchurch and Beaudie in Auckland,” Barrett said. “I just wanted to give myself flexibility to, I guess, do what I wanted if I had a change of heart and by having that clause in my contract, it allows me that.
“With this COVID thing going on, you just don’t know what’s going to happen next year, what the competition is going to look like, so it just gives you a bit of room to move.
“It doesn’t mean I’ll put any less into the Hurricanes, where I’m playing at the moment, it just gives me that flexibility at the back end.”
That out-clause hasn’t amounted to much, however, with one of Super Rugby Aotearoa’s players of the season choosing to re-commit to the Hurricanes just last week.
Brother Beauden, of course, won’t be playing for the Blues next season. Instead, the former World Rugby Player of the Year will be representing Suntory Sungoliath in Japan. Jordie never gave any serious thought to saying farewell to New Zealand’s shores at this early stage of his career, however.
“Obviously there’s a lot of money overseas and people have different priorities. I just thought, I was 22 years old last year, so it wasn’t a priority for me at this stage and I wanted to stay in New Zealand.”
The 23-year-old is growing with every game and has plenty to offer New Zealand rugby. The best is certainly still to come from the young utility back. The All Blacks will be better for it and, now that his medium-term future is committed to the Hurricanes, the people of Wellington will still be blessed with one Barret in their midst.
Comments on RugbyPass
The World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
1 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
2 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
19 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments