Barrett, rugby’s most disrespected player
The continuing knock on Beauden Barrett is strange given his outstanding contribution to the All Blacks
Beauden Barrett comes across as someone who sleeps well. He presents as being comfortable in his own skin, sure about who he is and aware that while he plays rugby for a living, it does not define him. This is not a young man with any hint of an inferiority complex or any kind of mental fragility that leads him to be overly sensitive or even particularly interested in how he’s being judged by those he doesn’t know. Which is a good job because someone less assured or confident may have disintegrated had they been subjected to the scrutiny Barrett has in the past 12 months.
Perhaps it’s a sign of the instant gratification times that Barrett delivered arguably one of the greatest performances by an international firstfive at Eden Park last year and four weeks later half the country was furiously campaigning for him to be replaced by a player who at the time had started just one test.
He must have found it peculiar that he was World Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017, shortlisted again last year, and yet since July 2018, he’s heard nothing other than why Richie Mo’unga should replace him in the All Blacks No 10 jersey.
To some extent, it’s apparent why this Mo’unga versus Barrett debate has erupted and will most likely simmer through to the World Cup and beyond.
It’s in the DNA — a national obsession to pit aspiring test first-fives against one another.
There was the Grant Fox or Frano Botica thing going on in the 1980s; the Carlos Spencer versus Andrew Mehrtens arguments in the late 1990s-early 2000s, and albeit briefly, in 2016, there was a split vote between Barrett and Aaron Cruden on who should start in the post-Dan Carter era. The class and composure of Mo’unga is the other key factor fuelling the fire.
He has steered the Crusaders to consecutive Super Rugby titles and shown a tactical awareness and maturity that has earned him inevitable comparisons with Carter. But what’s not so easy to understand is the lack of respect and appreciation for Barrett that has become part of the landscape; ingrained in the narrative. Those who have agitated for Mo’unga have done so with a tone that suggests they consider Barrett to be some washed out yesterday’s man halting the progress of the next big thing.
It’s a ridiculous state of affairs as Barrett is quite obviously a phenomenal player who has re-set the bar on how and where a No 10 can attack.
His time is now and what more exactly could he have done in the past three years to have proven that?
The fact that question has to be asked reveals there hasn’t been an All Black, certainly not in the professional era, whose deeds have so easily and readily been forgotten.
How many times has Barrett destroyed Australia, almost on his own, in the past three years? It was Barrett who orchestrated the destruction of the Springboks in 2016 and his virtuoso performances in Dublin and Paris that year which won close tests for the All Blacks.
As All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said last year about Barrett, even when he doesn’t have his best game, he still has a great game.
And unlike Carter, who did occasionally have the odd five out of 10 performance, Barrett never drops much below an eight.
Hansen has clearly been the most bemused by the clamouring for Mo’unga to start ahead of Barrett.
He tried to kill things quickly last year on the eve of the Rugby Championship when he pointed out the gulf of experience between the two No 10s and made it clear a change in pecking order was not on the cards.
Hansen’s staunch defence of his preferred candidate, combined with Barrett’s four-try masterclass against the Wallabies in the second Bledisloe test, bought a reprieve that barely lasted a month.
A few weeks later, the All Blacks had lost to the Boks in Wellington and only just scraped by in Pretoria and the rumblings began again.
When the All Blacks lost in Dublin in their penultimate game of the year, the calls for Mo’unga to start were louder than before, despite the fact the young Crusader had a poor cameo performance off the bench against Ireland.
The All Blacks collectively struggled to orchestrate their attack game in the face of rush defences in the back half of last year but it felt awfully like just one man was being blamed.
It’s not that Barrett is unloved, it’s more that too many people are too easily persuaded to doubt him with minimal reason to do so.
It may be a result of his occasionally erratic goalkicking. His overall record stands comparison with the best kickers but he is prone to times where he’s just horrid off the tee.
Unfortunately three of his worst goal-kicking nights came in the second test loss to the Lions and the third test draw, with the other one in the shock defeat to the Boks last year.
Presumably some people can’t forgive him for that, and more damagingly, can’t quite trust that something similar won’t happen again.
But such an unforgiving stance is unduly harsh, as throughout history, goal-kickers have had off nights without destroying their reputation. What’s also unfair is the lack of acknowledgement that Barrett has won tests with the accuracy of his goal-kicking.
It’s not strange that so many respect and admire the composure of Mo’unga and the way he plays his rugby, but it is unfathomable that there is this unseemly, unjustified and unreasonable desire to trample Barrett in the process of campaigning for the other guy.
In the past three years, Barrett has produced innumerable moments of incredible rugby.
He ran through the Irish defence to score direct from a scrum once without a hand being laid on him. He conjured a miracle score from his own goal-line against France and who can forget the back of the hand flip to Nehe Milner-Skudder at North Harbour in 2017?
He has also delivered tactically astute and measured rugby in that same period.
He was magnificent against England last year, capping a supremely controlled performance in the rain with a dropped goal.
And his defence, which barely gets noticed, has been outstanding to the point where he’s up there with England’s Owen Farrell in terms of his ability to tackle with impact.
Barrett is on track to be considered the equal of Carter, if not better, and not only is he the current big thing, he’s destined to be the next big thing, too.
There is ample growth potential in his game as he has just turned 28 and while he’s been playing test football since 2012, he’s in only his fourth season as a test No 10.
There’s no question that Mo’unga is an emerging talent with everything he needs to be a special All Black.
But those who continue to push his cause are in danger of failing to enjoy or appreciate that the incumbent No 10 is already the special player Mo’unga aspires to be.
Barrett is a rare and incredible talent who doesn’t crave or seek public endorsement but he certainly deserves it and has definitely earned it. It’s in the DNA — a national obsession to pit aspiring test first-fives against one another. Barrett is a phenomenal player who has re-set the bar on how and where a No 10 can attack.