Conspicuous in his navy blue head gear, a chuckling Abbott fended off the media descriptions as he would prospective tacklers but alluded to a regime that uncannily got him to positions to adroitly finish off passages of play.
"I like to be as fit as I can possibly be because that helps you to get out on the park to be on the right place at the right time," he said, heaping a fair whack of credit on to the trainers for whipping the players into shape where the whole team benefits.
All Black Barrett's brilliance is undeniable but it's easy to eclipse the input of others in the frame in the same breath.
The winning 73rd-minute try gave a vivid snapshot of where Abbott's levels are sitting on the thermometer of confidence. He picked up from the ruck about 8m out and elected to burrow down the blindside to sneak between halfback Billy Guyton and centre Reiko Ioane to dot down. "I think by the time I got to the ruck Cory Jane had done all the hard work - he'll tell you that, too - so I'll have to give him a bit of credit," he said of the veteran winger.
"Just as I came down I could see the last guy trying to force that turnover so I saw a little bit of space on the blindside and I thought it'll be good to have a crack if there's enough space and there was, which was good."
Not one to show too much emotion, Abbott said it was always a good feeling to score a try of that magnitude or even when they were defending on their try line.
He had tossed the ball into the air after scoring his winning try, cleared his lungs, turned towards the pavilion and thumped his chest.
"That's what you play the game for, in my opinion. There's nothing I love more than a tough game so to finally come through is so satisfying," he said as Barrett coincidentally pulled up at a shop to buy his dinner while Abbott was in the middle of the phone interview.
The question simply had to be asked about Barrett and his three consecutive sin-bins from two games for allegedly slapping the ball down deliberately in the 30th minute.
"To have a turn of pace like that and the time on the ball, you know, at times like that we just all feed off him to try to help do the job as best as you can."
While he hadn't spoken to Barrett he suspected a player of his calibre and agility must be a little frustrated to see referees ping him for following his instincts.
"Often I've seen him make countless interceptions. I don't know of a player who deliberately knocks down a ball. Every player goes for an intercept and sometimes it comes off and other times it doesn't so that's just a bit of the luck of the draw," he said as Barrett drove off with his dinner.
It will probably be the last time Abbott makes an appearance at the Magpies' home ground this Friday night. The venue holds fond memories for a player who has signed a contract to ply his trade for Coca-Cola Red Sparks in Japan's elite league from July.
"I love McLean Park, I love Napier and I love going to Hawke's Bay ... Just about everything I've learned in my career - well, basically a lot of it - the people of Hawke's Bay have helped me.
"I'm really looking forward to getting out there and, hopefully, putting on the jersey to represent the Hurricanes in a region where people have helped me along the way."
Abbott said people often asked him about what it took to make it to the professional ranks. The pathway was always there although he wasn't sold on any suggestions that he had become an inspiration to youngsters to embark on a mission to carve a niche in the country's national sport.
"If you put the work in there's no reason why you can't succeed and be the best player you can be and go to some special places."
The Napier Old Boys' Marist lock said the Hurricanes still cringed at the thought of how the Brumbies had spanked them 52-10 at GIO Stadium, Canberra, in February last year.
He said they were expecting the Australian franchise team, who are coming off a loss after the Rebels pipped them 19-17 with the boot despite scoring 3-1 tries in Melbourne on Saturday, to bounce back on to the winning track.
"They play a physical brand of rugby and they are on the top of their conference so they'll feel it'll be time for them to come through again."
The 45-cap Magpie preferred to think McLean Park should favour the Hurricanes' style of play despite not playing here for a couple of years.
"I'm hoping the Hawke's Bay crowd will get behind us on Friday night so it should be good.
The weather will be nice so I'll be slipping on the jersey with the boys and counting on the crowd to get behind us."
With the impending reduction of Super Rugby from 18 to 15 teams and suggestions from some quarters that it should come down back to 12 drew a circumspect reaction from him.
"I think you have to do what's best for the players as well and for the public.
"A lot of it is to do with money in mind, to a degree, so player welfare should be put first as well," he said, adding it was crucial the fans understood how the system operated.
"You don't know what'll happen so it'll be what it'll be but, at the end of the day, our job is to try to play good rugby to try to make the finals and whatever," he said.
