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Blues provide update on Beauden Barrett's latest head knock

(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

Blues star Beauden Barrett isn’t likely to miss much game time after picking up another head knock following his return from a potentially serious concussion sustained late last year.

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That’s the verdict from Blues head coach Leon MacDonald, who confirmed on Monday that Barrett’s latest injury blow isn’t as serious as feared by many.

The two-time World Rugby Player of the Year left the field early in the second half of his side’s 32-25 Super Rugby Pacific win over the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday due to a head injury sustained while tackling Highlanders centre Fetuli Paea.

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The match was only Barrett’s second game, and first start, since his All Blacks campaign ended early last year as a result of a concussion he received during last November’s test against Ireland in Dublin.

Barrett revealed earlier this year that he had considered retirement as a result of that head knock, sparking fears over the severity of his latest injury.

However, MacDonald moved to alleviate those concerns while speaking to media ahead of his side’s clash with Moana Pasifika at Mt Smart Stadium on Tuesday.

“There’s a mandatory stand down period if you get a bang to the head, which he’s obviously going to sit out, but I think the early signs are positive for him,” MacDonald said.

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“Other than a mangled up face, he’s come out pretty well with a pretty sore neck. He’s not too happy about that as well, obviously, but he’s looking pretty good at the moment.”

Barrett hasn’t been named in the team to play Moana Pasifika at Mt Smart Stadium in the rare mid-week match, which was rescheduled due to Covid concerns earlier in the year.

MacDonald added that the 30-year-old All Blacks centurion won’t be available for his side’s rematch against their cross-town rivals at Eden Park on Saturday either due to Super Rugby Pacific’s mandatory 10-day stand down period for concussions.

Nevertheless, the Blues boss is optimistic about Barrett’s return to action after having taken a cautious approach when he returned from All Blacks duty near the start of the season.

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“There’s always concern with any player that gets a head knock. You don’t want to see anyone with concussion because it’s not a nice injury to have,” MacDonald, who endured many concussions concerns of his own as a player, said.

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“We were extra cautious in the way that we brought Beaudy back. We didn’t push him in early, we gave him extra time just to make sure he was really comfortable and was completely gone and he felt really good.

“Even this injury now, it’s not a major one. He doesn’t have concussion symptoms as such, so we just keep on doing what we’re doing. We want to look after our players’ welfare.

“Ultimately, we want him playing a long career, not just next week, so you’ve got to look at the big picture and definitely we’ll take that same stance.”

Barrett’s unavailability for the short-term future leaves MacDonald and the Blues without two of their three first-choice first-fives after Harry Plummer was ruled out for the season with a dislocated shoulder following his side’s round three loss to the Chiefs.

As such, Stephen Perofeta has been called in to start at No 10 against Moana Pasifika on Tuesday, with rookie playmaker Jock McKenzie primed to make his Super Rugby Pacific debut from the bench.

MacDonald acknowledged that those injuries will test the depth of his squad, but he remained confident that those selected – especially the players who have had limited or no experience at Super Rugby level – will acquit themselves well.

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“I suppose that’s the biggest challenge as a coach is multiple injuries in the same position, especially critical positions like first-five,” MacDonald said.

“Harry’s out for this season with his shoulder, and obviously we’ve got Beauden out as well, so there’s two of our three contracted 10s. Every team’s got their own challenges.

“I know Aaron will be looking at his squad saying, ‘There’s a couple of positions where we’re feeling a little bit vulnerable as well’, but that’s just part and parcel of what we’re dealing with at the moment.

“This is a good opportunity, I think. One of the things that you can’t afford a lot of in this competition is to really go deep into your squad and give them access to game time, because at some point, you’re going to need them or you want them to develop.

“We’ve talked a lot about depth in New Zealand rugby and this has forced our hand, it’s forced Moana’s hand, and it’s forced our hand to look probably a little bit further than we normally would, but that’s really exciting.

“The buzz that the guys have got when we named the team, we’ve got debutants as well and that’s a big moment for their families and them to get out there.”

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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