Former Manu Samoa No 10 and freelance rugby scribe Campbell Burnes looks back at what has made Beauden Barrett such a great player.
From the moment he joined the fray on his test debut in 2012 in Hamilton against an Ireland side that was on the end of a 60-0 spanking, Beauden Barrett took to international rugby as if to the manor born.
He was 21 and just looked the part, due to his wide skillset, phlegmatic temperament and farm-bred ability to run all day, but had to bide his time as a super sub for the next four years, thrown the odd start but still racking up enough minutes to more than show his wares. Dan Carter and Aaron Cruden were often the No 10s, while Ben Smith was often the custodian, so we saw a lot of Barrett in the No 15 or 22 jersey.
By the age of 24, he had become the first man to score tries in the finals of both a Junior World Championship and Rugby World Cup.
His peak, surely, came from 2016-18, when he won two World Rugby player of the year gongs for his brilliance, mainly at first five. The tries flowed, as did the goals, the breaks, the pinpoint kick passes and try assists. There has surely never been a faster player in the No 10 jersey and none who scored more test tries than Jonah, Tana and JK. That enables him to score off turnovers, opportunistic kick chases or just via peerless support play.
If you are playing outside him, you are on high alert, as he can break on the outside, which means he is clear of marauding loose forwards in the bat of an eye and accelerating. Keep up if you hoping to score a try off him.
You may have seen him scoop the ball up one hand while running at close to top speed. That is extraordinarily difficult to execute under pressure. Try it some time.
There was some logic to the All Blacks’ decision to operate the two playmaker role in 2019, as they wanted to get both Barrett and Richie Mo’unga on the field at the same time. It didn’t quite pan out as intended. Now Beauden’s brother Jordie is the undisputed No 1 All Blacks fullback. Beauden is not the undisputed No 1 All Blacks first five.
But there is life left in those 30-year-old legs. He will not get any quicker but with over 100 tests under his belt, he should get smarter. That can only benefit the Blues and the All Blacks in 2022 and 2023.
His play for the All Blacks in 2021 got better after a shaky start when he looked as though he was struggling to readjust after a season in Japan. He was not back to his consistent best during the Rugby Championship, but there were glimpses of gold, such as a one-handed reverse pass to Luke Jacobson for a try against the Pumas.
His 100th test match, against Wales in Cardiff, could not have panned out better. He scored two intercept tries in a man of the match outing, though there may have been touch of sentimentality in the vote.
It mattered not. The All Blacks have two prime options for the next two years at No 10. One of them, Barrett, is already fit to rank in the top echelon of great All Blacks No 10s, behind only the incomparable Dan Carter.