Smart money on Barrett for All Blacks captaincy
Scott Barrett and Ardie Savea are the only two realistic candidates to replace Sam Cane as All Blacks captain, because the criteria for the job is so strict.
In the words of All Blacks coach Scott Robertson yesterday: “They have to start.
“They have to be world-class in their position and someone the players respect.”
There are a number of players who satisfy some or most of those conditions, but the list dwindles when it comes to covering them all.
Barrett and Savea tick all of the boxes, and at 30 years old they will probably go all the way through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
The noise out of Christchurch has been persistent in recent weeks that Barrett is the anointed one.
Robertson hosed that down, to an extent, in a statement provided to Stuff yesterday. “I’ve had conversations but nothing has been officially offered. We’ll be announcing our All Blacks captain on June 24.”
The potential fly in the ointment for Barrett is his current injury status.
He missed the loss against the Highlanders on Saturday, despite originally being named to start, and Crusaders coach Rob Penney told Stuff afterwards that Barrett was unlikely to play against the Brumbies this weekend.
Back issues can be niggly affairs. Indeed, Cane missed the majority of Japan Rugby League One season with a back complaint and won’t be available for the All Blacks until August (if selected in his last year of test rugby).
The injury doesn’t disqualify Barrett from the All Blacks captaincy, especially as he has been a serial winner as Crusaders captain and is a walk-up start for the All Blacks.
The lock showed his value for the Crusaders in week 10, when he returned from a broken finger and immediately improved the lineout and scrum in a 39-0 demolition of the Rebels.
He’s the best player in his position in New Zealand, setting the standard for other locks in terms of his work rate.
Still, a clean bill of health on that back complaint would be nice for all parties with the first test against England just two months away.
Savea’s trump card is that he isn’t just the best player in New Zealand in his position, he’s one of the best in the world, full stop.
If you were to ask coaches in either hemisphere to name their World XV squads, Savea would be in it more often than not.
Despite earlier reservations about his size as a No 8, Savea has made the position his own and was rightly awarded the World Rugby player of the year award in 2023.
That status commands a lot of respect, from teammates and opponents, and potentially even officials.
Robertson won’t name his captain until he names his first All Blacks squad on June 24.
In good news for Super Rugby Pacific, the All Blacks squad will therefore not be named until after this year’s final, giving it the air time it deserves.
Barrett and Savea are both likely to be available for the All Blacks camps made up of non-Super Rugby final players that are set to take place in June.
By that stage, one will surely have an official offer to firm up the conversations that have been taking place.
The smart money is on Barrett, re-establishing the coach-captain relationship that was so successful at the Crusaders.