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You wonder if Beauden Barrett will ever own the All Blacks at a Rugby World Cup
You wonder if Beauden Barrett will ever own the All Blacks at a Rugby World Cup. They should have been his team in 2019. Probably 2023 as well.
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As understudy to Daniel Carter from 2012 to 2015, Barrett was outstanding. Once he succeeded Carter as the starting first five-eighth, he was even better.
World Rugby Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017 (and a finalist in 2018), everything suggested Barrett would be the man to lead the All Blacks’ defence of their 2015 title.
Only Barrett got shunted to fullback and has largely been there ever since. It’s to his great credit that he’s done a serviceable – and occasionally excellent – job in the 15 jumper.
Few people would have begrudged Barrett retiring once Richie Mo’unga assumed the role of running the team from first five-eighth.
It was hard watching Barrett at 10, in New Zealand’s 33-13 win over Australia in the second Bledisloe Test and not think several years and two World Cup campaigns haven’t been wasted by playing him out of position.
Saturday at Sky Stadium was the team’s most convincing performance of the season. Was Barrett the catalyst for that? It’s hard to say definitively.
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But there was structure and stability and several players, particularly in the backline, became participants rather than spectators.
Barrett didn’t overplay his hand. And, frankly, no first-five should have to, when you’re blessed with talented players outside you.
It’s just that, for all-but this test, the All Blacks’ 2024 season seems to have been built entirely upon maximising the occasional brilliance of Damian McKenzie.
I thought the All Blacks looked like a team on Saturday. They’d played as individuals up to that point in the campaign.
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The decision, therefore, about who New Zealand’s primary playmaker will be for the next three years should be obvious.
It should be Barrett. Just as it should’ve been since 2016.
Only, I suspect that’s wishful thinking yet again.
McKenzie is far from done at 10, judging by the optimistic – some might say naive – comments by All Blacks coach Scott Robertson in a television interview this week, that McKenzie is a superb player who’ll suddenly develop the skills to manage a game.
I just don’t think there’s any evidence to support that view.
And then there’s Mo’unga.
It might turn out that we have seen the last of Mo’unga in an All Blacks jersey but, given his relationship and past success with Robertson, I’d be surprised.
Either way, my belief is that not playing Barrett at first five-eighth has hurt this team.
Aaron Cruden, for instance, came on at 10 to finish games in the 2017 British & Irish Lions series without success.
Since then, Mo’unga and McKenzie have often played there in Barrett’s place.
There are a variety of reasons why, since about 2018, the All Blacks have been an inconsistent and often disappointing side. The fact Barrett hasn’t been the designated 10 might be a coincidence, it might not.
Just as it might be a coincidence that the team finally played quite well with him at first-five on Saturday.
In the end, though, I come back to the suspicion that, in Barrett, New Zealand has had the services of one of the great first five-eighths of this generation.
Rather than entrust him to win a world cup, they’ve given that responsibility to other players and appear poised to do so again.
Seems crazy, when you think about it. Not to mention a shame.
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His form against the Lions, then leading into 2018 was not great. And Mo'unga was in irresistible form in Super Rugby and couldn't be ignored.
From that point on they both took turns looking like the answer, then fading away and ultimately failing to nail the spot down. The last iteration of that was Mo'unga coming in for the second test vs. SA in 2022 and along with wholesale changes in the coaching team, pack and midfield the team finally started coming together.
One of the major failings of both of them has always been goal kicking. If either one of them had been like DC or Ramos off the tee I think that would have been enough to put one of them permanently ahead of the other and end the debate.
By the World Cup last year Mo'unga had absolutely nailed the spot and I don't think there was much contention that BB should have been at 10. Mo'unga was all class at the World Cup and there is no way you can say BB would have made a difference if he was at 10 in that final.
No I dont wonder that at all. Ive never known of any player thats owned a world cup and no one owns the All Blacks, but NZ rugby fans, and it cant be sold to anyone.
I wonder if Hamish will ever write an article that isnt attacking NZ players. coaches and Administration.
Poor BB he had so many opportunities at RWC and he always underdelivered with poor tactical kicking and backward passes.
Pls stop talking about 2016 and 2017....that was 7 years ago and he is not the same player
Thats when he was the 10 tho. And thats when he very unfortunately got saddled with the horrible Mounga.
Absurd article. BB failed from 2018 onwards, once rush defences began. As Hansen said after BB handed the Irish a win in Dublin in 2018, "zero game management". The truth is, BB and his brother Jordie are great athletes with no rugby IQ or ability to read a game. Only when both are out of the ABs altogether will things improve. But Bidwell never criticises the Barretts... proving he's not really a rugby guy.
Yes, great with their skills from playing footy on their own field at home one on one but not so great as part of a team. You've nailed it.
Just rewatching Bledisloe II at the moment.
1st half BB was simply passing the ball around. Not bad but not great. He didn't break the line too much and wasn't a threat with ball in hand.
At the start of the 2nd half, he's wasted two possessions in good positions on the field with two wasted kicks - first one was easy for Australia to clean up, second one had no chasers following up which put NZ's defence under pressure and they conceded a penalty. He also conceded a penalty by going off his feet and straight over a ruck. Those three things are clear and decisive proof that BB definitely "overplayed his hand" by turning over possession.
And then a poor exit kick from his own 22.
I think BB is held to a standard that no other player is. He literally has to do everything perfectly, and any mistake he makes, or that someone even perceives he makes which is often not the case, is evidence that EVERYTHING he does must be bad. At some point bias against a player becomes so great that no matter how well they play, the one or two mistakes they make are the only thing that matters, rather than looking at the evidence of the game.
There is also a fundamental lack of understanding of game plans and what we are trying to do. Many NZ rugby fans have some kind of dependency on the idea that kicking the ball is really bad, and that it is done as a last resort. When in reality it is the opposite. I can't find the stat now but there was something around before the World Cup showing how good BBs kicking game is - behind only Ramos in terms of net metres gained in kicking exchanges - he is often the reason we are in a good place to play the rugby people want to watch.
Many people on here who have been the biggest advocates from RM over the years completely ignore his poor performances and many mistakes, and where they attribute any error directly to BB, will happily blame anyone and everyone else in the team if RM makes the same mistake.
I’m not a fan of switching players between 10 and 15. It’s as if their versatility in being able to play both positions becomes an obstacle in their careers.
A really good 10 gets better there over time. It’s a key position and shouldn’t be messed with.
BB’s shift to 15 has cost him and NZ quite a bit in my opinion.
This is why, when I hear calls of Sacha being played at 15, I get annoyed. Leave him at 10. I’d rather he devote all his skills and development at 10.
I think Mounga at 10 has been whats cost NZ a lot in the last 5 years. Just not a test 10.
Sacha is more of a 12 for me, a nice runner with an adventurous boot that is best used when the 10 chooses not to use his own boot and instead lets Sacha decide what to do.
That to me is where I see him sit perfectly as a rugby player, he gets to make the go or no decisions, a real 10 runs the cutter of where the team is playing. He's talented enough that he could play wherever he wants (and you fit those players, like a physical 13, around him). The one area where I can see his ability getting threatened is from the pressure on the 10 in big games.
It'll be a much simpler plan to just ask him to do everything, use all his skills from 10, and that's where the team might find the best place for him if there aren't the options around him. Certainly want to make that decision over the next few years and stick with it, I agree.
Beauden is a 15, so yes, he was moved back to where he was comfortable and played his best, they got that part right.
"It was hard watching Barrett at 10, in New Zealand’s 33-13 win over Australia in the second Bledisloe Test and not think several years and two World Cup campaigns haven’t been wasted by playing him out of position."
This is nonsense. New Zealand were beat out the gate by England in 2019. The defeat should have been far heavier. The identity of the #10 would have made no difference.
In 2023, NZ lost to 2 x top 4 teams including a utterly fatigued SA in the final. Arguably meeting Ireland in a QF a week after the Irish were scheduled to play Scotland, was going to be the only top4 match they were capable of winning and so it proved.
It has been crazy. Beauden should've been first five in 2019.
He should have been on the bench. RM at 10 and Ben Smith should have been 15.
Another lame and biased Bidwell article. Beauden was stable but not spectacular and didn't take advantage of his opportunity with his one game at 10. He didn't play as well as expected and he didn't show any clear evidence he deserves that starting 10 position over DMac.
The only reason that there was "stability" for other players to "participate" was because of the forward pack asserting their dominance.
Beauden has had his opportunities in the past but it's time to push forward with a new plan and new lineup. And that includes DMac with Beauden as backup and a view towards developing Perofeta (and maybe Josh Jacomb in the long term). DMac has scored the highest number of points in the Rugby Championship, and his goal kicking accuracy is very high. Let's not forget the fact that if he didn't kick with 100% accuracy in Bledisloe I, the All Blacks would've lost.
There's only one liability in the backline and that is Ioane, who does not pass to his wingers and hogs the ball. And if he does pass, it usually is a poor ineffective one. ALB made a huge difference and Proctor deserves a run. Most of us know that Rieko's best position is winger.
I agree with the basis of your point wholeheartedly, but I [incorrectly] think your reaction to it is just as kneejerk as those towards Dmac.
Yes, you're right I believe, he can be a good back up until succession is laid. I might expect that to take a while longer than yourself though (thought you were going to throw him out immediately). From Beaudens first game this year I thought he was back to the player he used to be, that is requirement number one for me. If he hadn't of done that, or if he reverts again, I don't want him near the team (ahead of tothers). He is going to have a lot of weight on his shoulders next year and I think the Blues are most likely to try him back at first five again (I also think Plummer is best at 12 and Pero 15). My second point/caveat is (based on that previous sentence) that he needs to control those reactions to the game pressure you highlight in your other analysis, better. If he can continue to ran the team around, without thinking that he needs to do something brilliant (and this is on the coachs to get other matchwinners in the team), then I think he is a great backup and even 23 cover. I loved the way he came on and gunned it for the All Blacks against England from the back, but I want him to be able to control himself from those sorts of plays if he's running the game from 10, especially as a starter.
That might be super nitpicky but that's were I'm at, and have been for a while with Barrett number 1.
Barrett was always a great 10 who was then playing 15 because you could not leave a player out who is as talented as him. Now he is too old to play 10 and will likely not make the next WC. It is a shame he never got the chance to lead the team at 10 to a world cup but few would argue that Mo'unga is not a generational talent deserving of a leading role. He is an outstanding player who had the X-Factor. Barrett has offered great utility and quality and continues to do so. He was never an 80% kicker and lacked the game management skills of Mo'unga. Would he have made a difference at 10 in the 2019 or 2023 campaigns? Its doubtful but would have been quite interesting had he been given the chance to see how it could have panned out differently.
Clearly Bidwell has only selectively watched BB since 2026. A shadow of the player he was and no longer takes the line on. Reverts to aimless kicking and the shuffling of rubbish ball. The article is written by a fan and noting more.
Bidwell is the perfect example of how bad rugby journalism in NZ is. He is a highlights watcher and has never had any ability to analyse a game. You would have thought he might have read some of Nick Bishop's aricles on BB to understand why he wasn't selected for the ABs at number 10 after 2017.
Barrett has been to 3 World Cups. He will not make it to a fourth at age 37 at any position. Time has run out.
He's the best ten in the country, Dmac is 29 who won't pass until he's used up all the space time to send him back to the chiefs, they love him.
DMacs passing is unrivalled. Thats a dumb comment you made.
That's really how I want the 10 playing, with no space. It puts far more pressure on the D to react when you're good enough to do it.
I think he also finds enough opportunity to give his outsides space as well, personally.
Who provided the assist for the AB's last try in their latest game? Was it DMac? Or was it a holographic image or a ghost????
He was good on Saturday, but he doesn’t hold defenders with square enough shoulders in my opinion.
Beauden tends to telegraph his passes, shovelling the ball along with the defender to the next carrier.
Dmac will own it, just needs a season or two at ten.
Or not. Give it to someone else and give them a season or two in the seat.
Or not.
Keep firing tens until someone comes along who can play international quality rugby straight away.
Just be prepared that could take a year or ten.
Both BB and DMac telegraph their passes and don't square their shoulders to the defence. Amazingly poor technique considering their age and experience. Of the two I'd say DMac is the worst culprit, at least BB takes on the line sometimes and is big enough to make metres after contact.
A lot of promise in this years Bunnings NPC. All the 24+ yo's have gone though, so maybe not yet aye Matt!
This all started simply because Barrett missed a few conversions in Rassie's first win against the all blacks in 2018. Not only was Barrett forbidden from playing 10 or taking another conversion for many a games , but Hansen changed the whole backline and abandoned the gameplan he had been building since 2016. It forced out Ben Smith and all fullback contenders for the next five years. Suddenly the 2018 northern tour became all about kicking drop goals, which meant nothing when England were up 19-7
.
I don't know if it was Rassie's plan but that 2018 win in Wellington seemed to throw the all blacks out of spin for years. Imagine if as a result of Libbok missing the penalty against the Pumas, Rassie panickly changed his whole backline a year out from the world cup and abandoned his whole strategy he has been building with Tony Brown.
Coaches not believing in their players but instead hoping the legacy of the once great All Blacks to pull them through is not enough, the rest of the world has caught up, sorry Barrett, Ivan Lendl feels your pain
No that is so factually incorrect its 100% laughable. BB was the 10 and DM the 15. On the tour to Arg in 2018 Dmacs Grandmother passed away. He returned home to attend the funeral etc and Mounga was bought into the team, but to keep the 2 playmaker thing going BB was put at 15. DM injured in 2019 SR so missed WC.
So sadly thats why we have had RM for 5 miserable years. Worst ABs years in the pro era.
Was it? Or was that when Dmac was the fb and got injured?
I think he'd like to have it over again for sure.
Ah! Click bait cop #2s turn!
Beauden Barrett can't pass Hamish. A first fives first job is to pass. Beauden can't pass. Ran great for all those accolades though, just Cruden looked better for the team during the Lions series.
Hansen was a basket case for sure though. Should have had Mo'unga in there a year or two earlier and building his confidence to take charge instead of making him flounder by throwing him in the deep end. Nearly won it, single handedly again mind you, last year.
Hansen and Foster continued to mess with RM in order to keep their favourite BB happy. RM was the best 10 by a mile and they kept interfering by creating the "2nd playmaker" role to justify BB being in the line taking over.
Beauden passes fine.