Niamh Fisher-Black and Kim Cadzow competed in the Women's Road Race while both Finn Butcher and Luuka Jones booked quarter-final spots. Video / Chereè Kinnear / Getty / Photosport
THREE KEY THINGS
– Beauden Barrett’s unexpected impact challenges All Blacks’ coaching strategies for player utilisation.
– Barrett’s performance suggests he is crucial for the team’s success, raising questions about his best position.
– The coaching debate continues on whether to start Barrett or use him as a strategic substitute.
Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and has written several books about sport.
But the question of what to do with Barrett – where and how to utilise him – needs an answer not just for this week’s upcoming test against Argentina, it’s something that this coaching group will be asking for the remainder of this season.
Barrett, despite twice being World Player of the Year and a test centurion, almost certainly surprised the new All Blacks coaching crew with the impact he made in July.
Beauden Barrett on the charge during the second test against England at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
He didn’t play in Super Rugby Pacific and, coming into the first test of the year, hadn’t played a serious game for eight weeks since returning from Japan.
He’d also turned 33 in mid-May and so if there was an element of subconscious thinking within the coaching group that Barrett was being picked more to offer mentorship to Damian McKenzie and to serve as a safe pair of hands should injuries strike, it would have been understandable.
But any sense of Barrett being involved mostly in the background and with a non-playing brief to inspire the next generation through his experience and professionalism was blown away in July.
Barrett was the individual star of the series, bringing the team to life when he came off the bench against England both in Dunedin and Auckland.
He brought energy, direction, certainty and considerable personal punch, and without him, there was an element of vagueness about the All Blacks.
What became apparent by the time the July tests closed out with a solid win against Fiji is that New Zealand are a better team when Barrett is on the field and that they need him more than they possibly anticipated.
Barrett didn’t just bring a wise head and astute decision-making, he brought what appeared to be age-defying legs that continue to have enough pace and agility in them for him to be a genuine strike runner.
And perhaps this is where the surprise lies. No one doubted the sort of intangible benefits Barrett would bring to the squad – his work ethic, his sage advice, his competitiveness and passion – but few were predicting that he would be the man to break England’s defence and produce three individual performances that showed he is still deadly quick in both thought and movement, and every inch the world-class player he’s always been.
The option of continuing to use him as an impact player off the bench – as happened in both tests against England – feels like it may be underselling his influence and importance in guiding the attack.
The underlying theme that came out of July is that the All Blacks are not quite ready to operate without Barrett and that for the remainder of this year at least, if not longer, he needs to feature somewhere in the match-day 23.
Suggesting, as some continue to do, that he should come under consideration to start at first five is to miss the other critical finding to come out of July – which is that McKenzie is growing into his role as the All Blacks strategic general, and if he is to continue to do so, he needs extended game time and the unwavering support from the coaching panel.
If Barrett is to start this week, it will be at fullback. But to pick him there presents another problem – which is that it will force Will Jordan’s return to action to either be on the wing or from the bench.
Back in February when the coaching group were given Jordan’s medical prognosis that he would likely recover from shoulder surgery in time to be available for the start of the Rugby Championship, they were no doubt envisioning he would be wearing No 15 in Wellington.
Jordan, who played for Tasman in a pre-season game on Friday, has been labelled by assistant coach Scott Hansen as a player who can come straight into test rugby after a long layoff and so will likely be deemed ready to start against the Pumas.
And head coach Scott Robertson has been clear that he views Jordan as a fullback who can cover wing.
But all short- to medium-term plans involving Jordan may be under reconsideration, given Barrett’s form and influence.
Will Jordan in action during the 2023 Rugby World Cup opener against France. Photo / Photosport
The new thinking may be to slip Jordan back into action via the wing. It’s a role that comes with less off-the-ball running and a licence for him to roam as he sees fit – a way to get him back into action with a less complex and pressured brief.
Returning Barrett to the bench to resume his impact role is clearly an option for the selectors this week and beyond, and one that will ultimately be tempting, given the longer-term need to develop an alternative option at fullback.
Barrett may be defying his age now, but there are no guarantees he’ll still be doing that deeper into this World Cup cycle and the All Blacks are going to have to learn how to ignite their attack both with and without him.
Whichever way the selectors land this week, the whole question of what to do with Barrett looks set to run for the remainder of the year.
