Of all the things Beauden Barrett envisioned happening in 2024, it’s unlikely he ever imagined he would be in contention to once again be New Zealand’s first choice 10. As much as he may have coveted that prospect, he no doubt would have seen it as a virtual impossibility.
There were too many factors weighing against it – not least of which his age, because at 33, it would be a risk for the All Blacks to bet on Barrett being their man through to 2027. There was the fact he didn’t play in Super Rugby this year, opting instead to invoke his sabbatical clause to play in Japan. While he was trying to win a title with Toyota Verblitz, Damian McKenzie took the Chiefs to the Super Rugby final, while Harry Plummer steered the Blues to the title from fly-half. All Blacks coaches are duty-bound to show loyalty to those who graft in Super Rugby.
And then there was the unknown factor of how he would be seen by the new coaching group led by Scott Robertson – a regime whose whole vibe was built on refreshing and rejuvenating New Zealand.
Barrett was picked in the first All Blacks squad of the year, not necessarily because the coaching panel believed he had a long future with the team, but more because there is an unwritten rule senior players who commit to long-term contracts and take a sabbatical as part of that, will be selected on their return. Not that Barrett was thinking about any of that in July. As the most capped player in the squad, he came into the July Tests with a single goal of trying to help manage the transition to a new coaching group and help the team reset itself.
His role, as he saw it, was to mentor others, help the new coaches and do his bit to keep the All Blacks on track.
“The amount of changes we have had, I feel responsible to be influencing this transition,” he says.
Beauden Barrett – the impact he’s had in that last 20 minutes in both of these Test matches. One of the world’s best players, he’s phenomenal
“It is a completely new group, and we anticipated it not to be a smooth transition, so it is important us leaders problem-solve, adapt and evolve.”
Certainly, it was hard to believe Barrett was earmarked for much of an on-field role. There was no sense he was seen as an integral part of Robertson’s long-term thinking when the first team to play England was picked. McKenzie started at 10 and Stephen Perofeta, who had only just returned from injury, was given the nod at full-back. Barrett was on the bench.
Even when Barrett played a strong cameo role, he still found himself there the following week, where he sprang into action for the last half hour and effectively won the Test. Such was his impact, even England coach Steve Borthwick felt compelled to acknowledge it.
“Beauden Barrett – the impact he’s had in that last 20 minutes in both of these Test matches. One of the world’s best players, he’s phenomenal.
“He had a significant influence on the game, I think everyone could see that.”
It may have seemed a case of stating the obvious, but it needed to be said by someone outside the New Zealand media corps or All Blacks fraternity. Barrett remains a phenomenal player.
And it needed to be said because arguably Robertson and his coaching panel weren’t seeing things that way. There was an obvious investment being made in McKenzie – a clear indication Robertson saw the 29-year-old as his best bet to groom into a world class fly-half by 2027.
Picking Perofeta for the first Test sent another clear message – there is a desire to develop more options at full-back, and that sense was compounded with the knowledge Will Jordan would be returning to action in early August.
Barrett was seemingly being left out in the cold, until he produced two such red-hot performances to force a rethink.
He started the next Test at full-back against Fiji, and even when Jordan returned, there he stayed. The All Blacks weren’t the same team without him.
This idea Barrett is done as a fly-half or not the right guy to back through to 2027 is almost certainly now under revision.
It’s not just his kick and catch skills in the backfield they need, or his ability to organise his wings. It’s his tactical nous, ability to pop up at first receiver and make good decisions and most of all, the way he’s able to take some of the play-making pressure off McKenzie.
Just how valuable Barrett is to the All Blacks became most apparent in the Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney, when he had to withdraw from the starting XV due to illness. Without him, McKenzie lost his way entirely in the second half and the All Blacks, from being 21-0 up after 16 minutes, were hanging on at the death to sneak home 31-28.
There had long been a pre-planned decision to rest McKenzie for the second Bledisloe Test and play Barrett at first-five. It was potentially a big moment in the context of not only this season, but arguably this World Cup cycle, as it opened in the minds of the coaching panel the possibility they may have to entirely reconsider who is their best long-term option at 10.
This idea Barrett is done as a fly-half or not the right guy to back through to 2027 is almost certainly now under revision, following the All Blacks 33-13 win against Australia. For the first time this year, New Zealand held their attacking shape for 80 minutes, looked more certain and confident. Barrett didn’t overplay his hand, but ensured the All Blacks played in the right areas and kept the pressure on when they had a chance to do so.
He played simply, passing to the right runners and facilitating a lower-risk game which led to the All Blacks producing longer, more accurate passages of play, avoiding the last-quarter meltdown which besieged them in every other Rugby Championship game.
Back in July, there was no hint the coaches saw Barrett as an option to be what Robertson calls the “franchise quarterback”, but here we are now on eve of the All Blacks tour to Japan and Europe and it may be that’s a distinct possibility.
With Tests against England, Ireland and France in consecutive weeks, Robertson may now be minded to start Barrett at 10 in all of them. He may feel New Zealand can’t win against the best teams without his game management, lower-risk approach and ability to facilitate the attack. To amplify that possibility, McKenzie came off the bench for the last 20 minutes in Wellington and showed he looks well suited to an impact role.
The challenging thing is that your kids get older and you start to miss out on quite a bit, and they start wondering, ‘why is my dad not here?’ and that is the hardest thing about it.
Now the only question with Barrett, is does he think he’ll be able to maintain his form and motivation until the end of his contract in 2027?
“I am one season at a time right now,” he says. “I am committed to New Zealand, but there is no guarantee I will make it that far.
“Getting married and having my girls has put a lot of things in perspective around the importance of life. The challenging thing is that your kids get older and you start to miss out on quite a bit, and they start wondering, ‘why is my dad not here?’ and that is the hardest thing about it.
“It means when you do go away you want to make it meaningful and worthwhile – more purposeful.
“The desire is still there to give it a crack, but I have to consider my family, my performance and my desire. That is ultimately what it will come down to, and if that fire is still burning inside of me.
“My body is good, head is good, heart is good, family is happy. If my performance is good, and I’m being picked [by the All Blacks] then one year leads to another and before you know it the World Cup is one year away, and you have a chance.”
in short NO!
As an international 10, I'd rate BB a 6/10 and DMac a 5/10.
Both have weaknesses, BB's happen to be less significant in a few critical areas.
BB has a better tactical short-kicking game than DMac, who doesn't have a tactical kicking game at all.
BB is a more accurate player than DMac, it's rare that you see BB badly fluff a pass like we've recently see DMac do on multiple occasions.
BB is also bigger and can us that size to get over the advantage line when all else fails.
The reality is that both struggle when their space is limited, which is why they are natural 15s rather 10s. Both aren't great distributors, tending to turn their shoulders to the receiver and telegraph exactly where the ball is going.
I'm praying to the Rugby Gods that Mo'unga returns.
You're joking right dmac literally has the best kick regather stat in the all blacks mounga has the worst mounga was not a good player and actually dmac is a very very good 10 and constantly proves that
I wish I'd been watching your version of the All Blacks this last decade!
Agree. For me even if Mo'unga returns, and I also pray that he does, we're going to need a backup. I'd be fine with BB or DMac covering first five and full back from the bench, but terrified if they had to start at #10 against Ireland, South Africa , France or even England in a must win game. Jacomb looks the best of the fresh crop, for me. With Cameron out of Super Rugby next year it'll be interesting who plays 10 for the Hurricanes. I've heard Ruben Love wants to play there , but another fullback to first five? No thanks
Nice analysis.
Which international team did you play for, Locke?
Agreed. Its sucks that international rugby misses out on Mounga in a black jersey because of eligibility rules.
Beauden Barrett is a better 10 than Damian McKenzie in 2024. So he should start the big 3 tests in November with DMac off the bench.
Would love to see Perofeta start at 10 vs Japan and Italy.
I actually thought Dmacs Argentinian performances was the best of all three that year, and Mo'unga had some goodin's.
One dead rubber home-game against the 10th best team in the World is scant evidence to judge Barrett's proficiency at 10.
The real test will come against the big three of the north, not just for Barrett but other players will be put under pressure unlike they experienced against Aussie.
Historically Barrett was a fine 10 against most teams, but struggled against the very top sides who could expose his weaknesses.
We can trace Barrett's woes at pivot all the way back to 2016, when Andy Farrell's rush defence caused him no end of troubles.
Too many games against our neighbours can cloud peoples judgement on some players.
I haven't seen any evidence that Barrett's character traits that get exposed under pressure have been eradicated. Unfortunately ingrained character traits are difficult to change and only come to the surface when the chips are down.
There was a reason Barrett was moved to 15 and has largely been kept there, because coaches realised he is more effective with the time and space it allows.
I'm all for it if he can demonstrate he has mastered his game under pressure against the very top sides, it would be a great story of perseverance.
But I won't be getting too excited over one performance in a game of little consequence. I fear it would be a risky move to back an aging star with a history of troubles in the decision making hot seat.
Ireland were exploitable and exploited from the backfield (NZ '23, England '24) but that has been shored up and a reason to play Barrett at 15 against Ireland removed.
McKenzie has had 1 very good test out of 8 (Argentina at Eden Park).
He was terrible vs Australia the week before Barrett looked calm and cool.
There seems to be a lot of praise for Beauden Barrett's Bledisloe II performance and a lot of harsh (and most of it unfair) criticism towards Damian McKenzie.
"Barrett didn’t overplay his hand" - this is totally incorrect.
Early in the 2nd half, he wasted 2 attacking opportunities in Australia's half with two wasteful kicks, the first was gobbled up by the defence and the second had zero chasers which shows a blatant lack of team cohesion, communication and decision-making. Then he conceded a ruck penalty shortly after. That's 3 bad mistakes in a row within a very short period of time. Do that against the better teams and there will be worse consequences.
"McKenzie lost his way entirely in the second half" - and yet McKenzie kicked all of his goals. You take away those vital points and the All Blacks lose. The point you journos, keyboard warriors and couch coaches are missing is that DMac made multiple scoring opportunities and broke the line but unfortunately lacked the polish to convert those chances into points with wayward passes. Beauden in comparison hardly ran the ball and didn't do much other than pass.
I'm all for giving a player credit where it's due. But let's be completely honest with a reality check - Beauden played against the 10th best team in the world at his original home ground. He did his job just fine but didn't show any evidence that he should wear the #10 jersey. And on the flipside writing hyperbole and feeding the trolls with incorrect statements about DMac is quite poor.
Beauden has shown consistently through his career that he is best at being an impact player off the bench.
Eddie's team were the 10th best in the world (maybe worse, he only had a year to get them that low). I'd say Joe will get this team into the 6 and is currently performing around 7th, a fair bit behind Argentina and England in 5th/6th, but slightly ahead of Italy, Fiji, and Scotland.
Yet you characterise DMac's habit of wild passes to nowhere as "lack of polish"? Please be serious.
The man is 33 years old and many people are writing him off saying he will never make the next world cup. Willie le Roux was 33 in 2021 and people said the same thing about him. In 2023 he was the only back on the bench in the world cup and is now essentially a player coach for the Springboks in 2024. His value is not measured on the field but also by his impact off it. The AB's will need experience and character going forward and Barrett has plenty of that. If he is willing and his body remains strong then he can of course be an option. But with exciting young players coming through the coach will most likely have to balance the equation carefully.
Good point, Razor is learning from Rassie and adopting some of his policy.
He won't have the advantage of continueing to select those players next year though (and hasn't had the same allowance to select others this year too, so has had to make do in some respect, kudos NZR), so I think you won't see a lot of these players providing the onfield component this eoyt (that bits to HH below).
Willie Le Roux is sensational for the Bulls. His experience and tactical nouse is just amazing. That type of experience can't be lost and Rassie is exploiting the experienced players to the max in how he manages his players and games. The youngsters learn a lot from them.
It's one game against an average 8th in world team. I remember two games previous a bb under no pressure kicking to touch on full from a clear carryback over the 22 and then kicks to touch for half time before the siren and we end up nearly conceding points. I am happy to see how he goes in Nov, but we need these 3 games to decide if he is up to the level, because I don't see this amazing game manager. My gut says we need to go find the next guy. Dmac and bb are both the wrong type of player for a starting 10. They can't control the tight stuff.l against top teams well enough.
If you are going to criticize Barrett for his tactical kicking that’s fair, but their is not a worse tactical kicker in world rugby that McKenzie who gets barely 20 meters on his touchfinders and over kicks his bombs so receiver is under no pressure and runs it back down AB’s throats.
DMac s an excellent 80+% goal kicker. That is all he offers
There is no "next guy" that is ready to step up to test level. Perofeta is better at fullback than he is at first-five. Josh Jacomb, Rivez Reihana, and Cam Millar are far too young. Brett Cameron has done his knee for a year. Fergus Burke has gone to Ireland. Kaleb Trask keeps getting injured. Lincoln McClutchie isn't up to Super level.
All they can do is either get Mo'unga back to NZ or open up selections to overseas players. Neither of which will happen in my opinion.
Keep Beauden at ten and bring Richie back. They can fight it out.
By 2027 Beauden will be the wily old fox like captain grumpy Sexton was for Ireland. Unlike Ireland he should be taken off by the 60th minute with an impact from Richie or vice versa.
Leave fullback to Jordan as incumbent but get rid of the under six foot two candidates currently being looked at. Bring in the bigger athletes like Payton Spencer, Zarn Sullivan.
Bigger doesn't mean better.
You mean like the wily old fox Sexton who played for the team that got knocked out of the QFs?
Go on…
The bigger question is whether a 41 year old BB will be able to push through to 2031. Take him off by the 15th minute?
McKenzie lost his way entirely by creating 9 line breaks eh. Why do writers presume its fine to lie and when they do it will just be taken as the truth from that point on? Lazy game analysis, lazy player analysis. All to write a story no one actually wanted to see on a topic thats irrellivant.
Wrong question - can nz afford to play BB at 10 and still win? The answer is no. BB was always a super sub and that's what he should remain
McKenzie is 5-3 as the starting 10 so I’ll go with the super sub (Barrett) over mr inconsistent (McKenzie.)
I guess he was just a super sub when he was 2 x world player of the year from the 10 position eh?
I agree completely "GL". Beauden's best rugby has by and large been as a "supersub". Richie Mo'unga will be back sooner rather than later. Richie is a world class specialist 10. Razor worked with him at the Crusaders and plotted 7 titles, ( with others). Foster has gone, the coast is clear.
The difference was in Bledisloe 2 that you had a competent number 10 rather than a player who unfortunately hasn't been able to adequately make the step up from Super Rugby to international rugby.
Did you like Barrett's kicking did you LOL
Yawn. What a boring cliche statement. And yet DMac was the highest points scorer of the tournament and kicked all of his goals in Bledisloe I which ended up being crucial to winning the game.
Why is Rugbypass not reporting on Mahonri Schwalger?
Who is that?
He was playing 10 in Japan (looked terrible during the first half of the season I watched) and 33 is the perfect age to be leading a side in that position. Not everyone needs to be able to last till 2027 FFS!
I agree. They don't need to be able to play to 2027, their experience must be used to help the younger guns.
Give me a like if you don’t think NZ will win the World Cup!
Bang, featured for ya ;)
I like the All Blacks chances much better than the Springboks
Already won it three times - no need to get too greedy like another rugby team we all know.
I think NZ will win the cup but sorry not giving you a "like". SA lose in 1/4s to Ireland...😁