Rugby’s back, but is Jordie?
If Jordie Barrett has indeed been ruled out of Sunday’s match against the Blues, the Hurricanes were doing their level best to disguise it.
The will-he, won’t-he questions around the star Hurricanes fullback went into overdrive yesterday as doubt was cast over the much-awaited battle of the Barretts at Auckland’s Eden Park.
As older brother Beauden was addressing media in Auckland ahead of his Blues debut in Super Rugby Aotearoa, and Hurricanes co-captain TJ Perenara was doing the same in the capital, NZME reported Jordie would be sidelined for three weeks with a shoulder injury and that surgery was a possibility.
Not so fast, said the Hurricanes who issued the following statement from general manager of rugby, Ben Castle: ‘‘Jordie has taken a knock and will not be participating in today’s training. We’re going to monitor it and see how he progresses through the week. The team hasn’t been named yet and will be out on Friday.’’
Then, lo and behold, Barrett the younger gambolled onto Hurricanes headquarters at Rugby League Park in full training kit, wrists taped, kicking a ball about with his team-mates at warmups. He even donned a visor to shield his eyes from the blazing Wellington sun. Confused?
All will be revealed on Friday when coach Jason Holland announces his team, but for now the ‘‘serious doubt’’ category seemingly applies to Barrett, pending further twists.
The All Blacks utility was one of the Hurricanes’ best in the early rounds of Super Rugby, and capped a fine all-round match by kicking the winning penalty against the Chiefs before the Covid-19 shutdown in March.
He was a mysterious absentee from training last Monday, too, which prompted assistant coach Cory Jane to quip Barrett was tired from ‘‘playing too many rounds of golf’’.
Whether there are two Barretts or one on Eden Park on Sunday, a cracking occasion is assured with the Blues tipping a crowd in the vicinity of 35,000.
Perenara is certainly fizzing for the occasion, likening their four-week buildup as just like another pre-season, except colder and darker in the mornings.
‘‘It’s awesome to get back on the field and play footy – in front of no one was pretty exciting so the fact we’re going to have fans there, people who are excited about watching the game again, it’ll be cool to be a part of,’’
Perenara said.
With no warmup matches scheduled, the Hurricanes adjusted to contact intensity with an intra-squad contest last Friday refereed by top whistler Ben O’Keeffe.
Another key man, loose forward Ardie Savea, hasn’t played since World Cup semifinal against England when he suffered a knee injury which required surgery.
Whether he’s rushed into the match day squad remains up in the air.
‘‘I’m unsure if he’ll be in the 23 or not but he definitely took part in that and he looks like he’s ready to go to me,’’ Perenara said.
One thing the Hurricanes do know is one of the world’s best footballers will be in the opposition for the first time, having made his name in the yellow and black jersey before his move north was confirmed last July.
Beauden Barrett also hasn’t played since the Rugby World Cup as he took a break, then arrived at the Blues with a personal best and club record ‘Bronco’ fitness time of 4min 12sec.
Said Perenara: ‘‘Baz is a quality player and we all know what he can do out on the field. I haven’t put heaps of thought into preparing for just him, they’re a good team and they showed that in the earlier rounds that they’re a quality outfit. We know they
have a lot of weapons out there.’’
Last time they met, the Blues won 24-15 in Wellington in March when the Hurricanes were reduced to 12 men at one stage with Tyrel Lomax red carded for a high tackle, Vaea Fifita sin binned for a similar offence and Jordie Barrett yellow carded for an intentional knock-on.