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Watch: Jordie Barrett palms off All Blacks teammate to set up long-range try for new Hurricanes halfback
By Sam Smith
They may be All Blacks teammates, but Hurricanes fullback Jordie Barrett has shown Chiefs midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown no mercy during their side’s Super Rugby Aotearoa clash at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
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With the Hurricanes on attack just inside their own half, the hosts spread the ball through the hands of Luke Campbell, Ngani Laumape and Ardie Savea before it found Barrett on his own 10 metre mark.
With first-five Orbyn Leger running a decoy line off Savea’s pass, Lienert-Brown was caught in two minds about who to defend out of the No 10 or Barrett.
By the time he had opted to commit himself to Barrett, he was a touch too late as he wasn’t able to enforce a dominant hit on the 23-test All Black.
Barrett took full advantage of Lienert-Brown’s indecisiveness by palming off the 25-year-old on his weak shoulder which allowed him to pierce the Chiefs’ defensive line and burst into enemy territory at top speed.
With ball in both hands, Barrett caught his opposite Damian McKenzie in two minds as the Chiefs fullback had anticipated a pass out wide to left wing Salesi Rayasi.
The pass never came, though, as Barrett boosted upfield before drawing in the tackle attempt of Chiefs first-five Kaleb Trask and firing a pass away to halfback Luke Campbell.
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The rookie No 9, who was starting his first match for the Hurricanes, then outpaced McKenzie in a mad dash for the line to score his first try in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
?? Luke Campbell has a try on starting debut for @Hurricanesrugby but that fend from Jordie though!
Watch live now on @skysportnz.#HURvCHI pic.twitter.com/O2M1vTt9cJ
— Super Rugby NZ (@SuperRugbyNZ) March 20, 2021
As a result, the Hurricanes drew first blood in the match, taking a 5-0 lead after 10 minutes of action, and they have since gone into the half-time break with a healthy 26-7 lead.
