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The abnormal stat that shows signs of a deliberate plan for Beauden Barrett

Beauden Barrett of the Blues arrives at the round six Super Rugby Pacific match between Chiefs and Blues at FMG Stadium Waikato, on April 01, 2023, in Hamilton, New Zealand. (Photo by Michael Bradley/Getty Images)

All Blacks first five-eighth Beauden Barrett is pushing through his final season in New Zealand with the Blues and continues to come under fire for his uncharacteristic performances.

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With one final chance at the Rugby World Cup later this year, Barrett has to be forgiven for working to a clear preservation plan to get him there.

There is one stat in particular that indicates clearly what is going on with Barrett this season.

With nine games of Super Rugby and 720 minutes of action played, he has made just 20 tackles all season. That is one every 36 minutes, almost a half a game of rugby.

He went through one fixture against the Hurricanes in round three without logging a single tackle or tackle attempt.

Combined with the most kicks in the competition it is clear Barrett is working to a plan to come through this Super Rugby season unscathed.

And that should be accepted by the New Zealand rugby public as a necessary means to an end.

The 31-year-old’s illustrious international career includes two World Rugby Player of the Year crowns, the 2015 Rugby World Cup, countless Bledisloe Cups and Rugby Championships. He has done it all.

As cold as it sounds, no one will remember much about Super Rugby Pacific when they look back on 2023, nor Barrett’s efforts for the Blues.

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That he is still even on the field is pushing it. Johnny Sexton has already been wrapped in cotton wool by Leinster and Ireland.

South Africa’s inspirational captain Siya Kolisi has gone down with a serious injury, and is now in a race against the odds to even be on the field in France.

Barrett has one final chance in his lifetime to make a World Cup run with the All Blacks, like a few others in the side. He does not need to play.

The 113-cap All Black still showed he can turn it on when needed, with a chip and chase coming off his own line against the Crusaders that nearly produced a length of the field special. He tore apart the Rebels to shake off doubts earlier in the season.

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Even so, attacking magic won’t be what wins a World Cup for New Zealand. He doesn’t need to be in career-best dazzling form.

Of all the All Black first fives, Barrett is the biggest body and is the most defensively sound. He has saved as many Test tries as he has scored over his career.

France, Ireland, and South Africa are all defensively bruising sides who don’t give up a lot of points. Ireland are the best of them.

The All Blacks need to tighten the screws with their defence more than anything.

The Melbourne and Twickenham Tests against Australia and England last year were colossal collapses down the stretch. A repeat of those showings will see the All Blacks bow out of the Cup.

In defence of the embattled first five, Blues coach Daniel Halangahu told Stuff.co.nz: “People want to see him, but I think everyone wants the World Cup trophy in the cabinet a little more.”

Let the Barrett preservation plan continue.

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Comments

16 Comments
J
Jack 550 days ago

No different to McCaw and Carter prior to WC.

F
Flatcoat 550 days ago

Don't agree.
He won't be match hardened..just like the failed rotation strategy under Henry..we ran out of first 5's because they couldn't handle contact v Fr. If he can't handle it he shouldn't be selected.

G
Greg 550 days ago

Coach, I do remember Naas Botha. Barry John, the Welsh Wizard of the early 70ies, was also not renowned for his tackling! In any case, yesterday's game by BB against the Reds disproves my theory - BB was superb. I was wrong, he's up for it.

G
Greg 552 days ago

Thanks Coach for calling me - at 73 - too young! And Craig, I hope you're right about BB. But I imagine you'd have to work very hard at avoiding contact to have a zero tackle count across 80 minutes! It's worth remembering too, that the last game - I can't remember which - where both BB and Perofeta were available, BB was on the team sheet to play at 15 and Perofeta at 10. What do you think that says? (I do think he'd have less chance of maintaining a zero tackle count - if that was the plan - at 15).

C
Coach 553 days ago

Craig, so correct you are! Unfortunately G and Greg are too young to know anything about having players who have been in every situation there is in International sport. There is and always will be no substitute for experience, especially in what will be an intensely pressurised WC. As a Saffa I hope that the selectors follow our esteemed colleagues and don't pick him and do us all a favour. Just the calmness in his eyes before a big match is enough to give the other players confidence. It would be great if you left him at home.

R
Ruby 553 days ago

Honestly I'm all for it, Richie Mo'unga is a great Super Rugby player but he has never proven himself in international Rugby and we already lost one world cup with him in charge, I'd rather not repeat that. Beauden is and has always been better suited to test football.

G
G 553 days ago

Why accept poor performance to save himself for RWC? All other ABs are playing full steam ahead for their teams and to be selected.

Why should BB be different?

G
Greg 553 days ago

It's either that or he's gun-shy as a result of concussions etc. My bet it's the latter - and I don't blame him if he is. But if so, he should get out now, otherwise the RWC will be one more humiliation.

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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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