Au revoir: Black Ferns flanker
Beauden Barrett is still cutting his baby teeth as an international No 10.
He may be World Rugby’s player of the year for the last two seasons running, and short-listed for the award again this year, yet All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believes Barrett is still unravelling the secrets on what it takes to be a five-star international first five-eighth.
Given he has collected 70 test caps since 2012, and been a regular starter at No 10 since being preferred ahead of Aaron Cruden in 2016, Barrett would appear to most people to be near the peak of his game. Hansen, who has named Damian McKenzie at fullback to assist Barrett in the playmaker’s role for the test against England, isn’t subscribing to that view.
Speaking ahead of the match at Twickenham, Hansen reflected on Barrett’s slow progression towards being the All Blacks’ top-ranked No 10 and said he’s still learning the finer points of the complicated job.
‘‘When he first came on to the scene, he was that second driver,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘He would come on and play at fullback. Him and Dan
[Carter] operated pretty well together.
‘‘I remember a game in Wales where he did it and turned the game around. At the Hurricanes, they don’t have the same luxury of having two drivers and I would say he has found at times he has been a bit frustrated there.
‘‘So it’s a learning curve for him as a player. And he is still in his infancy as a five-eighth, we tend to forget he hasn’t really been there for a long time. Four years isn’t a long time.’’
Barrett has been prepared to play the long game. His progression has involved being used off the bench as a fullback, and slowly being exposed to the job at first-five until landing the role fulltime after the 2015 World Cup.
The All Blacks selectors have picked Barrett and McKenzie to cause England problems in terms of giving their team two options when it comes to running the backline.
If all goes to plan, this means there will be little chance of Barrett having to shoulder all the decision-making responsibilities. It also means that if England bury Barrett in a ruck, McKenzie can slot into first receiver to call the shots.
By naming Richie Mo’unga on the bench, the All Blacks have another first-five capable of adding fresh legs and providing an insight into how to run the cutter in the second half.
‘‘He’s [Barrett] learning,’’ Hansen stated. ‘‘It’s the same for Richie too, they both want to play footy. And Damian is the same, they both love running the ball as opposed to using their kicking options. If you have only got one kicker, then it is easy to shut down those kicking options too.
‘‘From a team point of view it is becoming easier to do what we want to do, and therefore from an individual point of view it becomes less frustrating.’’
They were eventually dismissed for 219 as New Zealand went 1-0 up in the three-match series with their 12th successive ODI victory over Pakistan.
‘‘My role is to run in and pitch the ball up and swing it around and try to take wickets. We’re always aiming to get a couple at the top in that first power play,’’ Boult said.
‘‘When the hat-trick ball came around I was trying to make him [Hafeez] play and get the ball on the wickets. It was nice for it to swing back a little bit and trap him in front, a pretty cool feeling.’’
The Hafeez wicket was his favourite, a lethal inswinger trapping the veteran in front in an ideal hat-trick ball.
Fakhar’s was a good one, too, as he played all around one and was bowled, before Ross Taylor juggled then held a
‘‘My role is to run in and pitch the ball up and swing it around and try to take wickets.’’ Trent Boult
Black Ferns flanker Linda Itunu will retire following the Black Ferns series against France. The 37-test veteran will come off the bench in the first test in Toulon tomorrow morning (NZ time).
Although she is still loving her rugby and feeling fit, the 33-year-old wants to end her rugby career on a high note before joining the police.
‘‘To be honest I am one of the old ones in the team, I am pretty much part of the furniture now,’’ she said.
‘‘I am happy with what I have achieved in rugby, so I will be hanging up the boots after this year.’’
That means the two-test series will be a Black Ferns swansong playing alongside her little sister, Aldoro sharp grab off Babar at a wide first slip.
Boult ended with 3-54 after his devastating first spell and the pace trio did the job, with Tim Southee (1-31) accurate and a hostile Lockie Ferguson (3-36) adding another dimension with a welldirected short barrage.
Having lost the Twenty20 series 3-0, the New Zealanders welcomed back their No 1 striker from paternity leave after one first-class match and two onedayers for Northern Districts.
‘‘I’ve had a pretty quiet winter, probably four months off, away from cricket. The summer pretty much starts here for me. I’ve been in the gym doing the things I need to do to make sure my body’s right. The rhythm felt good tonight.’’
With a full series against Pakistan, then a packed home summer before the Indian Premier League and buildup to the World Cup in the UK in June, it’s an intense run from now on.