It was remarkable on Friday night to see three brothers in the same All Black team for the first time. We have seen previous families produce a multiple All Blacks, the Clarkes, Meads, Goings, Whettons, Brookes, Whitelocks, Franks, Saveas - often two in the same team, never three.
The remarkable Barrett family, profiled by Jane Phare in this paper today, set a precedent on Friday night that we might not see another family match in a lifetime.
How did the Barretts do it, our story asks? Genes helped. Father Kevin was a forward good enough to play Super Rugby 20 years ago, mother Robyn was a runner and a netballer, and quick. Beauden can attribute his blistering speed to her.
But the environment that bred them is given just as much credit by the experts. There were five boys in the family growing up on a Taranaki farm. Like all available hands on a farm they were expected to work, and farm work is hard work. City dwellers have no idea how hard it is. The physical exhaustion of farming is the reason many a boy raised on a farm does not stay on the land.
It is also the reason so many good rugby players have come from farms. In that selection of sibling All Blacks above, the Clarkes, Meads, Goings, Brookes and Whitelocks all grew up on farms. There were five Clarke brothers too, who all played for Waikato, at least once at the same time. Five sport-loving, competitive boys are bound to improve together.
