Heaven, earth and Barrett to play Mo’unga
“Twelve months ago, we were picking two [playmakers] together,” Hansen said. “Richie was one of them. He came on in the Dublin game. We used Damian Mckenzie in a number of Test matches with Beaudy. It’s something we have been playing with for a while. We’re pretty comfortable with it.”
The biggest surprise was that it was Barrett who made way after 36 consecutive Tests in the No10 shirt.
He started his career able to flit between the two positions, making his first two starts for New Zealand at full-back against Italy and Japan. That, however, was six years ago. Their first start together was patchy as New Zealand drew 16-16 at home to South Africa in Wellington in July.
Their next game together resulted in a chastening 47-26 defeat by Australia in Perth which turned the doubt dial up to 11. “Putting Beauden Barrett at 15, to me, is absolutely ridiculous. He’s the best 10 in the world,” David Campese, who won 101 caps for Australia, opined. Hansen, though, kept the faith. In his view, the primary purpose of team selection was in getting your best talent on the park, even if this meant jettisoning Ben Smith who in many people’s eyes has been the premier full-back in world rugby for the past four years.
The other rationale was that, for all the accolades that had accumulated at Barrett’s door, the 28-year-old had shown vulnerability against a suffocating rush defence, particularly against the Lions in 2017 and South Africa in 2018. The second playmaker provides the All Blacks with a safety valve against the blitz. Mo’unga is also a more reliable goal-kicker.
Hansen’s persistence paid off as Mo’unga and Barrett combined to excellent effect in their 23-13 victory over South Africa in the defending champions’ opening game of the World Cup.
Being stationed in the back field only heightens Barrett’s running threat as he is able to scan the line for mismatches while Mo’unga can attack from first receiver with his catlike reactions. Against South Africa, they frequently switched positions and combined for 14 points from the tee with Barrett producing a man-of-the-match performance.
“It’s only going to get better,” Barrett said of the partnership. “I love playing with Rich, he’s a super talent and hopefully for this team we can figure out how we get the best out of each other and do what’s best for this team. We’ve got a lot more potential in us.”
They have also been rooming together during this tournament to accelerate their understanding. Today’s quarter-final will represent just their sixth start together and ultimately the litmus test of the partnership. As Hansen said on Thursday: “Both are playing well and it’ll be a great opportunity to see how far we’ve come with them on Saturday.”