Sir Graham Henry has hailed the professionalism of Beauden Barrett, who has dispelled the former All Blacks boss’ doubts about his future.
The 35-year-old playmaker endured an underwhelming Super Rugby Pacific season with the Blues, which resulted in him missing all three of New Zealand’s Nations Championship fixtures.
He was finally given an opportunity by Dave Rennie to impress during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour to South Africa, and after an average shift at fly-half against the Stormers, he was shifted to full-back for the wins over the Bulls and Lions.
Sir Graham Henry hails Beauden Barrett’s Bledisloe Cup performances
Barrett would miss out on selection for the first three Tests against the Springboks but came off the bench in the fourth and final meeting in Baltimore. However, the selection door was flung open for him for the Bledisloe Cup Tests against Australia with New Zealand losing both Ruben Love and Richie Mo’unga to injuries.
Damian McKenzie was entrusted with the starting fly-half role, after featuring at full-back in every Test match this year until the clash at Eden Park, with Barrett named at number 15
The McKenzie-Barrett axis worked wonders against the Wallabies, with the All Blacks claiming a 50-19 victory in Auckland before beating Australia 50-19 in Sydney the following week, with Barrett faring well in both matches but producing his best in the latter.
In an interview with Martin Devlin on DSPN, former All Blacks head coach Henry expressed his delight in Barrett’s performances, with the now-selector admitting that he had doubts around the playmaker’s future.
Despite his performances declining in recent seasons, Barrett has continued to be an ultimate professional and servant to the team, according to Henry.
“He has been fabulous,” the 2011 World Cup-winning coach said.
“I’m so delighted because you wonder, he’s a 35-year-old superstar, done it all, World Rugby Player of the Year twice, and you wonder whether old father time is knocking on the door.
“He has been absolutely outstanding in that group as a mentor and a support person; he has just been the ultimate professional, and he’s given other people confidence. I’ve got so much respect for him, and then to see him play at Eden Park and then play the house down in Sydney. It’s just fantastic. I feel so pleased for him, and I was like everybody else; I wondered.”
Many had written off Barrett’s chances of remaining in the All Blacks team through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup because of the emergence of Love, the return of Mo’unga and the form of McKenzie.
‘I’ve never wondered about his professionalism
Henry also had his doubts, but the experienced back has eased those concerns through his performances and shows that he still has the in-game instincts that made him one of the best players of his generation.
“I’ve never wondered about his professionalism or his effect on the team, but I just wondered whether his days were over, maybe,” he continued.
“I thought it was just fabulous, and when he scored that try, he ran 70 metres or whatever it is – I might have added another 10 – I was cheering him the whole way.
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“It was just bloody fantastic, and he has not lost any of his instincts for the game. I couldn’t be more delighted for a person who’s done the hard yards and come through it because he’s had a challenging couple of years.”
Barrett is set to be even more involved in the Test team this November, with Love ruled out for the remainder of the international season while Rennie was uncertain whether Mo’unga would recover in time to make the trip to the northern hemisphere.
With McKenzie primed to continue at fly-half, Barrett looks set to be the preferred option at full-back with the All Blacks deploying a dual-playmaker axis throughout the new coach’s first year in charge of the team.
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