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Ian Foster explains why Scott Barrett has been picked at No 6

(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Crusaders lock Scott Barrett has been named at No 6 for the All Blacks for the first time since the 2019 semi-final defeat to England as they prepare to face Ireland in the first test.

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The All Blacks options at blindside were rather thin in the squad, with one specialist at the position in Akira Ioane and versatile options like Pita Gus Sowakula and Tupou Vaa’i who cover another back row position.

The selection of Barrett was a bold move by Foster which will bolster the line out to combat a handful of tall Irish targets like Caelen Doris and Jack Conan in the loose forwards.

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Maori All Blacks post-match press conference

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Maori All Blacks post-match press conference

Defending his selection, Foster said that he knows Barrett can play there and is bringing some of his best form into this test series after a successful Super Rugby Pacific campaign with the Crusaders.

“[It’s the] first time he’s started for us there, but he’s filled in a couple of times there,” Foster said.

“He’s also played for the Crusaders there. We know that he can do it.

“He’s one of the form players in Super Rugby in the last four to six weeks. He’s on top of his game.”

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Barrett’s stint at No 6 against England in the fateful semi-final didn’t play out the way the coaches had planned as the All Black lineout couldn’t stop England on the night, leading to an early substitution for the Crusaders’ captain.

Foster explained that the lessons from that game have been taken on board and he didn’t dwell too long on the call to play Barrett at blindside once again.

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The All Blacks head coach believed the positives outweigh the risks with Barrett bringing some of the best ball carrying in the country to the table.

“I didn’t spend too long thinking about the 2019 game,” he said.

“But we took some lessons from that, they were learned a long time ago.

“This one, we’re very clear about the strategy. It’s something we’ve talked to Scott about this possibility.

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“If we look at the positives of it, apart from his set piece acumen – we know how good he is in that space – he’s also bringing a bruising defence and ball-carrying part to his game now.

“He’s probably our most dynamic lock ball carrier at the moment. We can utilise that at No.6.

“So there’s some things that even if you sit down with Scott and talk to him about it, he finds a lot of the roles very similar now, except for a couple of defensive tweaks that we’ve had to make sure we tidy up.”

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5 Comments
I
Ibanez 874 days ago

Scott barrett at blindside appears to be the main talking point around NZ, personally I reckon Sam cane 7 is "headline news" as greater player/leader as he is, Papalii has outperformed him in every possible aspect. In light of this, I also understand the logic behind having Scott barrett at 6 (even though I personally wouldve chosen Tupou vai) as either of the two are big ball carriers, offer sound defence, high work rate and line out superiority. As much as I love Akira, hes too "hot n cold" and tends to go on "vacation" during a game. Frizzell has only just got back from injury (otherwise id start him at 6) I understand NZ being nervous about this selection choice as things went "pear shaped" at the world cup. Honestly with Sam cane starting at 7, that has me more concerned than anything

G
Greg 875 days ago

Good to see Scott Barret picked at No. 6. We need a tight-loose beast there and a genuine line-out option. The International bench-marks are Pieter-Steph du Toit (2m, 120 kgs) and Courtney Lawes (2.03 115kgs), so if Barrett (1.97 111 kgs) doesn’t cut the mustard - and he should be given at least the Irish series to adjust - Tupou Vai’i (1.98 118kgs) should be next cab off the rank.
Akira Ioane has the bulk for ball carrying but isn’t a genuine line out option and doesn’t have the work-rate. Cullen Grace has great work-rate but at 1.93 and 107kgs simply isn’t big enough for an international No. 6. Note that when Clayton McMillan was asked straight after the Maori game by the Grace fan-boys at Sky for his opinion on how Grace went, McMillan talked instead about the huge contribution of Cam Suafoa (1.96 116 kgs).

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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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