‘I did think of the worst instantly after tumble’
All Blacks No 10 Beauden Barrett has admitted he ‘‘feared the worst’’ after his horrific spill against the Springboks in Mbombela that left him fortunate to escape serious injury.
The 31-year-old, 105-test international has spoken for the first time about the incident late in the opening Rugby Championship test that saw Springboks wing Kurt-Lee Arendse red-carded, and banned for four weeks.
Barrett opened up on the scary thoughts that ran through his head in the immediate aftermath of the spill and then the enormous sense of relief when he was cleared of significant injury.
Barrett was spun around by Arendse’s challenge and landed on his neck. All Blacks coach Ian Foster described the incident as ‘‘probably the worst I’ve seen’’.
‘‘It was quite a big collision,’’ said Barrett in Johannesburg in the leadup to a much-anticipated rematch at Ellis Park. ‘‘I did think of the worst instantly and, I can’t remember who it was, told me to stay still. It wasn’t until Doc came on and asked me could I move my fingers and toes, I was relieved I passed all those tests and eventually sat up and was able to walk off and get on with it.
‘‘It’s quite scary when you go over backwards and find yourself come down on your head and shoulders. It’s part of the game and every time we go up for the high ball we’ve got to be courageous.’’
But, as Barrett conceded, sometimes courage is not enough.
‘‘Sometimes the chasers don’t get it right,’’ he said. ‘‘They have intentions to get up but find themselves running into the person, which happened at the weekend. As escorters, the players in front of me are doing their best to protect me, but it’s not always the case.’’
The experienced playmaker was cleared of injury and trained fully with the All Blacks on Tuesday in Johannesburg. He is expected to be named to run out at Ellis Park in Sunday’s rematch.*