Barrett handling the ‘pressure’
Beauden Barrett may be a little testy on the subject, but his All Blacks coach is adamant the challenge from Richie Mo’unga is bringing the best out in his classy playmaker.
Barrett figured things out after an indifferent start to stamp his mark all over Bledisloe I in Sydney on Saturday night, unleashing the bag of tricks as the All Blacks took command to run in five second-half tries en route to a 38-13 victory that puts them just a win away from holding the Bledisloe Cup for a 16th straight year.
The 27-year-old first fiveeighths, playing his 66th test, missed his only two shots at goal in the first half and had a couple of distribution misfires early on. But at the back end of the spell and then throughout the rampant second 40 he was back to his sizzling best.
His try, in the 52nd minute, was vintage Barrett as he seized on dropped ball from Dane Haylett-Petty to toe through, then take controlling touches with his left and right boots before scooping the ball up on the line.
And he put wing Waisake Naholo in for his first try with a fabulous left-footed kick into space that demonstrated both his vision and tremendous skills with the boot, even if the All Blacks speedster might have looked suspiciously close to offside at his takeoff point.
Barrett, of course, has been the subject of some debate as Mo’unga’s supporters have suggested the Crusaders playmaker deserved a shot at the All Blacks No 10 jersey on the basis of his outstanding Super Rugby season.
After the match, Barrett was asked whether he felt he had answered a few questions with his performance and his response indicated it may not have been his favourite topic.
‘‘The only question I was willing to answer was my own. That’s all I focus on and that’s my standard,’’ said the back-to-back world player of the year. ‘‘I don’t read anything, so it’s news to me other than what people tell me.
‘‘So I just work on my game and have my own standards. I was happy to get 80 minutes under my belt, and I was knackered out there, so hopefully I’m better for it.’’
But coach Steve Hansen said he believed Barrett had felt the ‘‘pressure’’ of the challenge from Mo’unga, and also from designated impact man Damian McKenzie, and it had brought the best out in his established No 10.
‘‘First all he showed us he’s human and he probably felt a wee bit of the pressure,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘But more importantly he showed us he can cope with it. The more the game went on, the better he went and his confidence grew. We know he’s a world-class player and have got all the faith in the world in him.
‘‘We’re really lucky we’ve got two other guys. A lot has been talked about Richie, and, yes, he is going to be a really good All Black. But so is young McKenzie. In that position we’re sitting pretty good. It’s about the three of them working together and making themselves get better because of that and not being hindered by it.’’
Hansen felt there was a clear recent precedent to the situation Barrett was going through now.
‘‘If I think back to Dan [Carter] when Crudes [Aaron Cruden] and so forth starting put pressure on him, it took a little while for him . . . they’re superstars and they’re not used to having someone tracking them.
‘‘All of a sudden you’re looking over your shoulder [saying] ‘what’s this coming?’ Once they get that, feel comfortable with that, you actually see them go to another level. I look forward to seeing Beauds do that.’’
On a lighter note, Barrett revealed the background of the football skills he showed in scoring his spectacular try.
‘‘I don’t know who it was but I felt someone on me [Will Genia] and knew if I tried to pick it up I’d probably get tackled. I just backed myself and toed ahead a couple of times.
‘‘When I lived in Ireland back in the day – I was only nine or 10 – I actually wanted to play for Real Madrid . . . till I came back home to New Zealand and realised I was a footy boy.’’
Thank goodness. It wasn’t seeing her son become a test rugby player that made Camille Ainsley cry.
No, as she wiped away the happy tears at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Saturday, it was the man Jermaine Ainsley had become, rather than the sportsman, that made her so proud.
The 23-year-old from Cromwell is a Wallaby now, coming off the bench in their 38-13 defeat to the All Blacks. He’s a prop, just like his dad Joe McDonnell, who won eight caps for New Zealand in a career that also included stints with the Highlanders and Hurricanes.
But the connection ends about there.
Following a fine first XV career at Otago Boys’ High School, Jermaine followed his mum to Perth and threw his lot in with Australian rugby. He soon progressed to the Western Force Super Rugby side and, when they folded, moved to Melbourne to play for the Rebels.
Camille, and the rest of the tightknit family went too, until the death back home of her brother Daryl. A real Central Otago identity, champion speedway racer and all round top man, Daryl Ainsley was very much a father figure to Jermaine.
Camille decided to return to Cromwell, safe in the knowledge that, having taken a boy to Perth, she was leaving a man behind in Melbourne.
‘‘That’s pretty much what I said to him. You are a divine young man now, that’s totally equipped to deal with life and know right from wrong and let integrity be your signpost for all things, no matter what,’’ Camille said yesterday.
Ainsley was a late addition to the Wallabies’ 23 for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup clash, after reserve prop Taniela Tupou failed a fitness test. It was about 7pm on Friday before he was able to tell mum he was definitely playing and nothing was going to stop her from racing there to see it.
‘‘I literally got there an hour
‘‘He came over after the game and I was balling my eyes out. I’m still quite emotional now.’’
The fact that Saturday’s opponents were New Zealand added to things, too.
‘‘Obviously it was a very challenging time for him because he’s a Kiwi. But, at the same time, he followed his family to Australia and made a decision that he needed to be in the Australian sport environment and that’s made him a better person and player,’’ Camille said.
‘‘He had to start all over again in a country where nobody knew him. He was well known in the South Island and he had his dad’s name to follow as well.’’
And now Jermaine’s with the Wallabies in Auckland, waiting to hear if he’ll be retained in the 23 for Saturday’s return clash with New Zealand at Eden Park. There’ll be no prouder mum in the country, if he is.
‘‘We are 100 per cent planning to go, but Jermaine’s got to find out of he’s even stripping. If he strips, we’re there,’’ Camille said.