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Has a date been set for Beauden Barrett's debut with the Blues?

Beauden Barrett and Leon MacDonald. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)

NZ Herald

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Beauden Barrett could make his Super Rugby return earlier than expected.

Newshub reports the All Blacks star is keen to make his long-awaited debut for the Blues in round 11 against the Hurricanes – his former team – at Eden Park.

The game is a week earlier than the franchise had initially planned for, with Barrett previously reported to be in camp from April 13.

Barrett is on sabbatical from the game. His last match was in the All Blacks’ bronze medal playoff against Wales at the Rugby World Cup.

The 28-year-old has reportedly expressed frustration about being sidelined and is eager to play.

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The decision, however, remains in the hands of the Blues, with Barrett still required to meet “return to play” protocols.

This month coaches such as the Chiefs’ Warren Gatland and Highlanders’ Tony Brown called for changes to New Zealand Rugby’s policy of protecting their All Blacks at the expense of their Super Rugby teams.

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While on break, Barrett has been in and out of Blues headquarters and was spotted on the Blues’ training field before their loss to the Chiefs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B87qDS0Aqy9/

Blues assistant coach Tom Coventry said at the time that Barrett looked in good form.

“He’s in great nick. He’s a true professional who knows how to keep himself in shape when he’s away from the game,” Coventry said.

“He’s going to be short of a few games of footy but we’ve got a plan around how we get him ready to play. It won’t be too long before he’s back with us.”

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.

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WATCH: Is Beauden Barrett’s former Hurricanes teammate set for a shock switch to rugby league?

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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