Beauden Barrett was a revelation for the Hurricanes in 2016. Can his youngest sibling Jordie follow suit in 2017? MARC HINTON reports.
The facial resemblance is uncanny, and the rugby one isn’t too shabby either. Jordie Barrett steps off the familial production line for a widely-anticipated debut Super Rugby season at the Hurricanes, with the very real prospect of playing a key role right alongside his older brother, who just happens to be the best on the planet.
Can you imagine the opposing defences’ confusion as they zero in on the dangerous Barrett, folowing the scouting report against the defending champs, only to discover there is now not one, but two of them lurking in the backline, ready to break a game open with their instinctive brilliance, dazzling footwork and innate speed?
Double trouble, as it were.
First things first. There is no mistaking that Jordie Barrett, who turns 20 in February, is the younger sibling of All Blacks superstar, and World Rugby’s 2016 Player of the Year, Beauden.
Kid brother is a dead ringer, from the granite chin up, for the dazzling No 10 who lit up the game with a spectacular calendar year. He led the Hurricanes to their inaugural Super Rugby triumph and then made everyone forget that Dan Carter had traded the Test arena for the lavish Parisian lifestyle.
But does the resemblance run deeper than looks (Jordie, at a towering 1.95m, is significantly taller)? Can the baby of the Barrett clan − eight in all, five of them boys − make a similar impact to the 25-year-old Beauden, who has emerged as the most exhilarating and exciting No 10 in the game?
All indications thus far − and there is still some water to flow under this bridge − are promising, with Jordie having shone for the New Zealand U20s and at provincial level for Canterbury in 2016. His performance prompted a bidding war for his Super Rugby services that, of course, the Hurricanes won.
‘I encouraged him to come home, but he didn’t need a lot of encouragement,’ said Beauden of some arm-twisting through the signing process. Given that dad, Kevin ‘Smiley’ Barrett, played a couple of seasons for the Canes in the first years of professional rugby and that Beauden now runs the cutter in the capital, it was not a big call for Jordie (not ‘Jordan’; he hates it when people call him that) to move closer to the family home in Taranaki.
His short stint in Canterbury did the trick, showcasing his skills in a provincial outfit that has made an art form out of winning championships (eight in the previous nine years) and well and truly placing him on the national radar. He made 12 appearances for the Red and Blacks, mainly as a goal-kicking No 12, scored five tries, led the competition in offloads (25) and ranked in the top 10 in carries, defenders beaten, metres gained, points and tries.
Not bad for a kid supposedly still learning the game.
Steve Hansen saw enough to include him on his All Blacks end-of-year tour as a designated non-playing apprentice − a trip that included no fewer than three Barrett brothers, with 23-year-old Scott, a lock (with Canterbury and the Crusaders), making his Test debut and playing all four internationals after injury struck.
You could say the brothers (the oldest, Kane, played Super Rugby for the Blues but is now battling concussion problems. Another, the 21-year-old Blake, is chasing a professional gig) have fulfilled a family prophecy.
When Kevin played the last of his 167 provincial games as a rugged loose forward for Taranaki, he famously replied to a question to what he was going to do with his time now: ‘I’m gonna go breed some All Blacks.’
Jordie, who was named New Zealand provincial and age-grade player of the year, certainly looks a keeper. The last youngster to tour as an apprentice was Ardie Savea, and Hansen is hopeful his touring experience will help fast-track what he views as an inevitable ascension to the highest level.
‘He’s really talented and skilled, but physically he’s not ready to be an All Black yet,’ said Hansen. ‘We’ve got no doubt he will be, at some stage, but the tour gives him a flying start. It worked well for us in 2013 with Ardie, and we think it accelerated his learning, and allowed him to come into the All Blacks a lot quicker than he may have done. Hopefully the same will happen with Jordie.’
All Blacks backs coach Ian Foster says more than merely a high skill level has caught their eye.
‘He seems to have a little bit of that Barrett calmness about him when the ball is nearby. And with having that ability to go from midfield to fullback, it’s a great combination that offers good options.’
Adds national selector and ex-All Blacks great Grant Fox: ‘He’s just a talented young man, who can play 15, 12 and 10, and kick goals. He’s got that Barrett gene. Super Rugby will be a big step up from where he’s been, so an off-season with the All Blacks would have been good for his physical development and a great learning experience.’
All appearances are that Barrett has a good head on those shoulders, too. He says he never imagined in his wildest dreams that in a season he began by playing club rugby with Lincoln in Christchurch would end with him part of a touring All Blacks group. ‘I’m pretty proud of the way things panned out, but I have to pinch myself a bit,’ he reflected at year end. ‘My aim was to not be overwhelmed by it all, and it was tough at first, but it certainly helped having a couple of brothers over there.
‘It’s another level and it’s all about individually nailing your preparation.’
As for any pressure being part of that now famous Barrett clan, born and bred on the family dairy farm?
‘It’s just one those things,’ he says. ‘Expectation is always going to be there, so I just try to embrace it and take it as it goes, and enjoy playing rugby and having fun with it.’
The way this young man’s rugby career is already mapping, that’s a sound approach.
ALL BLACKS BROTHERHOOD
There have been 44 sets of brothers to have played for the All Blacks over the team’s proud history. When Scott Barrett came off the bench early in the second half of the All Blacks’ eventual 40-29 defeat to Ireland in Chicago on 5 November, he and elder sibling Beauden joined that special, er, brotherhood.
Legendary fraternal siblings to have pulled on the famous black jersey include Colin and Stan Meads, Don and Ian Clarke, Zinzan and Robin Brooke, Gary and Alan Whetton, Owen and Ben Franks and Julian and Ardie Savea.
Sam, George and Luke Whitelock are the only trio to have all played Tests, although the three were never on an international field at the same time.
There is a possibility the Barretts might achieve that rare feat, with Beauden now an established starter, Scott near the top of the queue behind Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick in the second row, and now Jordie earmarked for future honours via his ‘apprentice’ status.
For three lads who grew up throwing a ball around in the backyard on the family farm in Taranaki, it would complete a Boy’s Own-type story. Given that Jordie has already been named New Zealand’s provincial player of the year at the age of 19, this has now taken one big stride closer to becoming a reality.
– This article first appeared in the March 2017 issue of SA Rugby magazine
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