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'Huge for us': Blues excited by Beauden Barrett's return for Chiefs clash

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

For the first time since 2020, and the first time this year, Beauden Barrett will run out for the Blues after recovering from a concussion that had sidelined him since November.

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The All Blacks centurion and two-time World Rugby Player of the Year has been named on the bench by the Auckland-based franchise for their clash against the Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday.

That fixture will mark Barrett’s first outing for the Blues in two years after he skipped last year’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman title-winning campaign to take up a season-long sabbatical deal in Japan with Suntory Sungoliath.

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In between his Top League spell and his return to the Blues, the 30-year-old playmaker has endured a rough time in the injury ward after he left last year’s test between the All Blacks and Ireland with what seemed at the time to be an innocuous head knock.

What transpired, though, was a lengthy sideline stint that forced Barrett to miss New Zealand’s season-ending defeat to France in Paris, as well as the Blues’ season-opening Super Rugby Pacific loss to the Hurricanes in Dunedin last week.

During that time, Barrett expressed fears for his playing future, but he has now recovered adequately enough to return to action this weekend, much to the delight of Blues assistant coach Dan Halangahu.

“We don’t take chances with anyone’s career or anything like that, so Beauden’s taking his time coming back,” Halangahu told media on Thursday.

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“What he has done is add huge amounts off-field. We’re extremely fortunate now we’ve got a little more experience, guys who have been on tour in that November period, such as Rieko [Ioane], but Rieko’s not a lone soldier in the backs anymore.

“Now he’s got a few more allies and leaders coming back from that tour, so Beauden, even though he hasn’t contributed on-field yet, he does add a lot off-field.

“Extremely professional, and drives our backline, in particular, but the whole team to turn up and do well. As I said, to give guys like a Rieko a few more allies, it’s really important for us to grow that leadership throughout the whole group.”

Barrett isn’t the only notable inclusion in the Blues side to face the Chiefs, a match where they will hope to clinch their first win of the season.

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Joining Barrett as a new face in the starting lineup is captain Dalton Papalii, who sustained a head knock of his own last week that made him ineligible for selection against the Hurricanes.

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A standout for the Blues and All Blacks last year, Halangahu emphasised the importance of having Papalii, and Barrett, back on deck after their side conceded three tries and 19 points in the final 10 minutes of their match against the Hurricanes.

“We were very clear that the last period of the match wasn’t what we wanted, but, in reflection, not having our senior leaders out there and our more experienced players was probably something that contributed,” Halangahu said.

“Getting Dalton back is huge for us, and also Beauden’s come through the week really well. He’s been a while out of rugby, so him easing his way back in is good for us, as well.”

Papalii’s inclusion in the No 7 jersey demotes Adrian Choat to the bench in place of last week’s debutant Anton Segner, while the only other alteration to the starting team comes at fullback, where Stephen Perofeta replaces Zarn Sullivan.

Halangahu indicated that fullback is a hotly-contested position at the Blues, with Perofeta getting the nod this week after Sullivan had the first crack in the No 15 jersey.

“I think you can put it down to the form that Stephen Perofeta’s in,” Halangahu said of Perofeta’s selection.

“He’s extremely unlucky not to be in the starting team in week one. We’ve all seen in NPC, he’s probably the player of the NPC, so it’s the challenge of trying to pick a backline when we’ve got guys competing and performing well.

“It is difficult, and we sit around and have the discussion around who’s in the team this week, and it’s a great problem to have, guys playing well and putting their hand up.

“We feel like we’re starting to build some depth, but, as you said, there’s definitely not satisfaction in 70 good minutes. We get satisfaction from winning games for this team.”

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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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