Barretts ready to tackle, my bru
MEAN FEAT: THREE BROTHERS RUN OUT FOR NEW ZEALAND
Scott Barrett is having to pinch himself and it really has nothing to do with the amount of interest older brother Beauden is getting from locals at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Lock Scott, flyhalf Beauden and utility back Jordie are the first trio of brothers to appear for New Zealand in the same test match, having achieved the feat against Samoa in 2017.
They are also the first trio of brothers to be included in an All Blacks World Cup squad.
Scott said that while growing up on the family farm in coastal Taranaki on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, the scenario had played out several times in their backyard games.
“I never really thought we would be here,” Scott said yesterday in Oita, where they have begun preparations for their October 2 clash with Canada. “In the backyard, you would say, ‘he’s got a kick to win it – the World Cup.’
“You’d joke about it – and you pinch yourself that we’re here right now.”
Their father, Kevin, a Taranaki provincial stalwart who played for the Wellington Hurricanes in the early days of Super Rugby, announced his retirement from rugby and said he was “going home to breed some All Blacks”.
All three have said they got their work ethic from their father and their talent from mother Robyn, who excelled at athletics, basketball and netball.
A two-time World Player of the Year, Beauden is the most well known and is endorsed by a Japanese electronics manufacturer.
He has consequently been mobbed by eager local rugby fans and Jordie said the experience had been a little surprising.
“Yesterday, we turned up at the airport and they were all screaming Beauden’s name and Scott and I were looking at each other thinking, ‘What’s going on?’,” he said. “But it’s pretty cool.”