Barrett becomes the perfect 10
About the only person in the rugby world not blown away by the Beauden Barrett show right now might just be Beauden Barrett himself.
The rest of us remain slackjawed by the ridiculously talented playmaker’s extraordinary formline which is showing no signs of dipping below the spectacular. It’s almost unthinkable to ponder, but the 25-year-old reigning world player of the year might just be in the process of topping his body of work from 2016.
More is to come in the black jersey, for sure, but indications so far are that the man now widely recognised as the best player on the planet might just be taking his game to a whole new level. Certainly the consistency with which he is racking up the remarkable is not only uncanny, but nigh on unprecedented.
Many wondered whether we would ever see another as good as Dan Carter when he stepped away from test rugby after the 2015 World Cup triumph. It now appears, for all money, that Barrett is well on the way to surpassing the record-breaking first five, even if his CV remains decidedly incomplete.
On the week that the British and Irish Lions announced their chosen 41 for New Zealand, and unveiled Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton as their likely test flyhalf contenders, the Hurricanes and All Blacks playmaker provided a timely reminder just where the balance of power lies in the area of influential No 10s.
Barrett was once again spectacular as the Hurricanes turned round a 21-14 halftime deficit to annihilate the Brumbies 56-21 in Napier on Friday night. The in-form No 10 followed up his game-changing turn against the Blues just six days earlier with an equally dazzling and influential display against the Australians.
He was at it throughout. Chipping and gathering. Ghosting through defensive lines. Drawing and passing for team-mates. Crosskicking as though he had the ball on a string. He directly set up at least four of the Canes’ eight tries, and was influential in others if only because the defence was drawn to him like bees to a honeypot.
‘‘I was a ball boy at Athletic Park for the 1977 Lions, and I’ve seen a lot footy players over the years,’’ said Hurricanes forwards coach Richard Watt. ‘‘I’ve seen a lot good football players, and we’ve produced some top guys. But I’m not sure I’ve seen any better than Beauden.
‘‘He can produce performances like last week’s [against the Blues] out of the box. But he’s doing it every week. He’s special − definitely one of the best I’ve ever seen.’’
The Hurricanes were rapt to dish out revenge on a Brumbies outfit who embarrassed them last season, even if the victory did come at a cost.
Watt confirmed Saturday that loose forward Blade Thompson was done for the season after another dislocated shoulder that would now require surgery.
But he heaped praise on his highly motivated pack that laid the platform for Barrett and hat-trick hero Vince Aso to unleash their best stuff.
‘‘It’s funny what motivates a forward pack week to week,’’ Watt said. ‘‘We didn’t have to say much this week.
‘‘There were enough guys from that game last year. They were dark on that game.’’