Experienced Smith defers to Barrett to ‘run the ship’

Aaron Smith may be the most capped, and voluble, All Blacks back for tonight’s season-opener against France, but the chirpy No 9 is happy to pass on the ultimate responsibility for running the show.

Yes, Smith will have his say, as is his wont, but when it comes to guiding the All Blacks around the park the Highlanders halfback, who will earn his 72nd test cap tonight, knows where his bread is buttered.

‘‘God, that’s a bit scary, it makes me feel old,’’ was Smith’s first reaction when told he was the most experienced All Blacks back tonight.

‘‘But he runs the ship,’’ he added, pointing to master first five-eighths Beauden Barrett who was sitting alongside. ‘‘I’ve played a lot with Beauden and the trust and time we’ve had together makes me feel confident about trying to do my job.’’

The 29-year-old went on to explain an oft-repeated mantra about playing in the All Blacks which explains why players are so often able to summon their best stuff under the most pressure.

‘‘In Super Rugby you can try hard to do a lot of things and give as much as you can,’’ added Smith. ‘‘Here you can narrow in on your role, and mine is speed to the ruck, listen, and clear the ball. It’s that simple. Anything else you can do extra, like cleaning up loose balls or energising our forwards, I try to do. I don’t mind having a yap and telling them what I think.

‘‘But Beaudy drives the ship and if I feel like if I’ve got an opinion on something, Beaudy is really good at taking on what I say. In the end he’ll make the decision and I’ll always back that.’’

The Smith-Barrett combination is a vital one for the All Blacks. When Smith, who appears a re-energised figure, is at his best, getting to the rucks quickly and clearing ball with those laser passes, Barrett then has that split-second of time he needs to work his magic.

And the back-to-back world player of the year with any sort of time and space on his hands is a gamechanger with his instinctive brilliance.