All Blacks brothers
There’s a story about Kevin “Smiley” Barrett, well known in the world of rugby. Asked what he planned to do next after the last of his 167 appearances for Taranaki in 1999, he replied: “I’m gonna go breed some All Blacks”.
In fact by then he’d already bred them. Sons Beauden, Scott and Jordie were most likely kicking a ball around with their brothers Kane and Blake back home on the family farm, a little tribe of burly forwards and fast-footed backs in the making.
But, as genetics experts will tell you, good breeding isn’t everything. There’s no single reason for the whirlwind success of the Barrett boys, no single magic component that has earned the three brothers the right to wear a black jersey. It is instead a case of the “perfect storm” that has seen an explosion of family talent propel Beauden, Scott and Jordie to the top of their game.
Yes they’ve inherited great genes from both parents, hard-working farming folk Kevin and Robyn, and possibly from grandparents or even further back in the Barrett gene pool. Kevin was sporty, playing rugby for Taranaki in the 90s, and for the Hurricanes in 1997 and 1998. Robyn was known as a fast runner and was a talented basketball and netball player.
That’s a terrific start, says Professor Peter Dearden, director of genetics at the University of Otago. Good, sporty genes can deliver the right muscle structure, eyesight, balance, speed, agility and build. How genes are inherited is a “kind of lottery”, he says. The Barretts join more than 40 sets of brothers to be All Blacks including Julian and Ardie Savea; Sam, George and Luke Whitelock; Zinzan and Robin Brooke; twin brothers Alan and Gary Whetton; Owen and Ben Franks; Don and Ian Clarke; Colin and Stan Meads; Graeme and Stephen Bachop; Lawrence, Cyril and Maurice Brownlie; Ginger and Mark Nicholls; and Charles and Pat Purdue.
Sporty parents don’t necessarily produce sporty children.
“Clearly there are good genes in this family to build on.” But Dearden thinks it’s important to stress that great rugby players aren’t built on genes alone. “I think hard work and practice is always going to get you a long way. The best genetics in the world will go nowhere if those individuals spent their life on the sofa watching rugby instead of out in the backyard having a crack at it.”
And have a crack at it is what the Barrett kids did. Most days after school and at weekends, when they weren’t helping with farm chores, they’d tumble out of the house on to the big back lawn, dubbed the Barrett Cricket Ground, for a game of rugby or cricket. They still do when they visit the dairy farm that is home at Pungarehu, south of New Plymouth, a short drive to the Tasman Sea and watched over by Mt Taranaki. They’d rope in the kids from the neighbouring farm and cousins who lived nearby to make up a team.
That environment meant the eight Barrett kids — the boys and their sisters Zara, Ella and Jenna — had another advantage, the opportunity to play and practice constantly, Dearden says. And
there is evidence to suggest children from smaller communities, or even smaller cities, do better in sport because they have more opportunities to play every day than children in big cities who don’t have easy access to back yards or parks.
Taranaki locals will tell you that in the Barrett household, lounging around or playing on electronic games wasn’t an option. Kevin and Robyn work “bloody hard” on the farm and are always on the go, they say. Or as one local put it: “Robyn and Smiley don’t stop moving.”
Their children have either inherited or absorbed that same work ethic. And, in the case of the brothers, it has been transferred to rugby.
The Barrett brothers acknowledge the mixture of family genes and work ethic when it comes to their success. At an All Blacks press conference this week they attributed some of their talents to their dad, a former hard-nosed lock and rugby legend in Taranaki, but said their swiftness came from their mother. “Mum was a pretty talented athlete herself,” Beauden said. “They all say our speed came from Mum and I guess the size and work rate from Dad.” Younger brother Scott pointed out that “Mum works pretty hard round the farm. I don’t know if you’ve seen that.”
“There was always work to be done,” Beauden said, “so we always saw Mum and Dad doing that, coming home cooking us dinner, getting us ready for school.
“So if you relate that to your rugby it’s about striving to be better, to be the best you can be.”
Talk to the coaches who have watched the five brothers play and they all say the same thing.
Sure, the Barrett boys have inherited natural ability and good rugby brains. But there is something else, too. They put in the hard yards, they’re competitive, dedicated and have the right attitude. Blake, currently vice captain of his Coastal club team, has the “team first” attitude, according to coach Joe Lawn. “He’d do anything for his team. That’s all you can ask as a coach. If you get 22 guys turn up with that attitude you’re going to go a long way.”
Aaron coach agrees, Fisher, head for Coastal, saying Blake