Why you’ll never take the Taranaki out of Barrett

What you see is what you get with the stand-in ABs captain.

No wonder All Black rugby is embracing Beauden Barrett.

Barrett captaining the All Blacks this morning is a reflection of just how highly the 26-year-old is regarded by Steve Hansen and his coaching team. The great Dan Carter wasn’t named as a captain (for the 2011 World Cup test with Canada) until he was 29.

Barrett had never captained a team at any level until today. Yet it feels like a case of right man, right time.

This year the game’s had to deal with embarrassing disclosures (think the Aaron Smith investigation, the Jerome Kaino revelations), without a spotless record on the field to wipe away any off-field stigmas.

But if a team of Parnell public relations people were locked away for a weekend with a crate of pinot gris they could not invent a better representation of what Kiwis want an All Black to be than Beauden Barrett.

His abilities on the field are, of course, extraordinary. But perhaps just as remarkable is that, like his whole family, there’s there appears to be nothing artificial or calculated about Barrett as a person.

The Biblical phrase in which Jesus declares, ‘‘No prophet is accepted in his hometown’’, is overturned when you talk to locals in Taranaki about the Barretts. In the Naki they love them all.

Stories abound of the Barretts, many so grounded they recall an earlier age, when the basics of rural life, hard work and commonsense, were reflected in the farmers who provided the backbone of the All Blacks – men like Colin Meads, Brian Lochore, Graham Mourie, and Dave Loveridge.

Their father Kevin, was a tireless, hard edged lock in 167 games for Taranaki, whose nickname was Smiley.

Quizzed this week, three men who played with him basically said he was called ‘‘Smiley’’ because ‘‘The Enforcer Who Wears A Happy Expression When He’s Doling Out Summary Justice On The Field’’ was too cumbersome to use in conversation.

There are the stories of how, as the kids were growing up, they were all expected to provide a hand in the cow shed on the family farm in Pungarehu, on the Surf Highway between Okato and Opunake.

How mother Robyn, herself an outstanding basketball player and all-round sportswoman, would meet a 10-year-old Beauden and his brothers at the primary school gate, take their bags in the car, and then watch them run the 3.5km home in bare feet, racing the school bus.

In sport today image makers are everywhere.

New All Blacks automatically receive media training. In the week before a test match they’ll be sent to clothing stores, schools, and hospitals to burnish public perceptions.

Reality can become blurred, so let me tell a true story about Beauden Barrett that reveals a lot about his character, and has the advantage of not being buffed up by media caretakers.

Last year, in a break between test matches, Barrett was driving past the local primary school, Rahotu, out on the coast.

The kids were all outside, practising for a kapa haka competition. Barrett, whose two younger sisters were then at the school, pulled up and went to see the principal, Brigitte Luke. Nothing had been arranged. She takes up the story.

‘‘He (Barrett) watched them doing the haka, and then they started asking him questions. ‘What’s it like doing the haka in the All Blacks?’ and then it moved on to ‘How many Weet-Bix can you eat?’

‘‘He laughed, and said, ‘four.’ He asked if they’d like to play a game of touch. So we had all 120 kids and him playing a huge all in game. You know that cross kick he does? He was doing that and some of them were able to catch the ball.

‘‘Is he really so down to earth and humble? Absolutely.

‘‘He offered to sign some autographs. There wasn’t one kid who left without his name signed on a forehead, a lunchbox, or on their gumboots.’’

SHARING THE MEMORIES

It was just two Crusaders coaches shooting the breeze in London, but the interaction between Robbie Deans, who guided the red and blacks to five Super Rugby titles, and Scott Robertson, the architect of their most recent triumph, revealed all you needed to know about the franchise.

Deans is coaching the Barbarians against the All Blacks and Tonga, and Robertson, a former player under his watch, is his assistant.

Deans was asked about Robertson’s success in his first year in charge, and positively beamed with pride.

‘‘I was lucky enough to get inside the changing shed this year, when Razor invited me in to present the jerseys for the Highlanders fixture, and it was great to be back, but, most importantly, great to see the spirit was still there. You saw that in the way they played. The Crusaders are back and Scott has been a big part of that.’’

To which Robertson responded with a Deans anecdote.

‘‘I gave him a call when I finished playing and said ‘I’d like to be involved with coaching the Crusaders’. He said ‘whoa son, go away and do a bit more coaching before you come back in at this level’. It was just over 10 years later I got my opportunity, and it was great advice. He said to find out how you want to coach, what environment you want to build, and I did that.’’

Robertson retains a similar approach to the next step up the ladder: ‘‘I’d love to be involved with the All Blacks in some capacity but I’m just going to do a lot of learning at Super level first.’’

ONE-STOP TEAM SHOP

The All Blacks seem to have settled on a new preferred base in London, out at The Lensbury in well-to-do Teddington to the southwest of the big city. It fits the bill perfectly, with its own rugby field, top-level gymnasium, pool and all sorts of room to spread out in a quiet, relaxed environment. It is, you might say, a one-stop shop for an international rugby team, and is just a short hop to Twickenham.

The players love not having to battle London’s notorious traffic to get to and from training. ‘‘It’s definitely helpful, you’re not on and off buses, and you have a pool, sauna and spa here,’’ says halfback Aaron Smith. ‘‘We love rugby so it helps if you can smell the field.’’

The players and management appear won over. But it will be interesting to see if NZ Rugby continues to oblige with the Teddington hideaway. The November tour is always an important time for major sponsors who see it as a great chance to leverage the team in the larger British and European markets. It’s understood they would prefer the All Blacks stay in a more central location. It’s a fine balance. High performance v commercial preference. We may have to wait 12 months to see which wins out.

STAYING ABOVE GROUND

Security has long been an important aspect of life in the All Blacks, what with keeping prying eyes away from the training field and ensuring the safety of all concerned.

But after recent events in the UK and Europe, the team’s security detail are being extra vigilant. The players were told they were able to travel on London’s overground rail network on their day off (Wednesday), but instructed to avoid the Underground ‘Tube’ environment.

Chirpy Aaron Smith was no doubt gutted. On a previous visit the wideeyed halfback rated travelling on the underground transport system a highlight, marvelling at the efficiency with which such a huge volume of people were spirited around the city. ‘‘We certainly had nothing like this in Feilding,’’ he remarked.

SIBLING SARCASM

The viral video of a convalescing Jordie Barrett kicking a rugby ball through a basketball hoop from distance impressed many.

But not his older brother Scott. ‘‘My initial reaction was he’s got way too much time on his hands. He must be a bit bored with his rehab.’’