Barrett moving after Rugby World Cup
By NZ Herald
Beauden Barrett hasn't yet committed to the Blues, but the world's best play-maker has said yes to living in Auckland and will be relocating after the World Cup.
The Herald understands that Barrett and his wife, Hannah, are upping sticks from the capital later this year to base themselves in Auckland which is why the Blues are hopeful they are going to lure the All Blacks No 10 from the Hurricanes.
Barrett, whose father played for the Hurricanes, has been fiercely loyal to the club he first played for in 2011.
But as much as the Hurricanes are in his blood, Barrett will have to commit to commuting between Auckland and Wellington if he is to continue to play for them beyond his current contract which expires at the end of this Super Rugby campaign.
Complicating the picture is that Barrett is understood to be planning to take both a non-playing and playing sabbatical as part of a four-year contract extension to stay in New Zealand.
It is probable that he will be granted permission to take an extended break from all rugby after the World Cup and miss much of next year's Super Rugby season.
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He's expected to play in the latter weeks of the competition and be available for the July tests and Rugby Championship before then joining a Japanese club at the end of the year, where he will be based until May 2021.
It is, in essence, a similar deal to the one Brodie Retallick has been granted in that like the big Chiefs lock, Barrett is being afforded an 18-month window in which to enjoy a combination of time off and a lucrative spell in Japan before fully committing to New Zealand in May 2021.
And like Retallick, Barrett is effectively going to miss the next two Super Rugby competitions, which further complicates the question of which club he'll play for.
If he does decide to join the Blues, it may be he delays his arrival until the 2022 season.
There is still, though, despite Barrett's decision to relocate to Auckland, no certainty that he'll commit to the Blues given the lack of success the club has enjoyed and the obvious lack of quality they have in key positions other than first-five.
And while it would be a major snub if Barrett opted to live in Auckland but not play for the Blues, he wouldn't be the first to do just that.
Daniel Carter lived in Auckland throughout the last two years of his time in New Zealand, but opted to commute back and forth to Christchurch to remain with the Crusaders.
What the Blues will be hoping is that Barrett decides that the impact on his family life and subsequent physical and mental state will be too heavily compromised by constantly traveling between Auckland and Wellington and that he concludes the sacrifice of staying loyal to the Hurricanes is too great to make.
He's not expected to reveal his plans until after the Hurricanes' Super Rugby season has finished.
That could be this weekend and the All Blacks coaches will no doubt be keen for him to have his future signed before he comes into camp for the Rugby Championship in mid-July.
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz, written by Gregor Paul and is republished with permission
In other news: Nations Championship plans scrapped
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Everywhere you turn some irish journo is advocating Ireland as the greatest, reasoning that the wc is a 4 year cycle event so, they say wc doesn’t matter it’s the rugby in between that should account for the accolade. If there was no wc then some substance could be gained, however in my opinion the moment that defined Ireland’s fate against the abs was 37 phases of repeated head bashing against a brick wall. If a change in strategy or a tinker with the game plan was executed then things could've been vastly different. And to point a finger the let down was in the hands of the number 10.
Go to commentsI have heard it asked if RA is essentially one of the part owners and I suppose therefor should be on the other side of these two parties. If they purchased the rebels and guaranteed them, and are responsible enough they incur Rebels penalties, where is this line drawn? Seems rough to have to pay a penalty for something were your involvement sees you on the side of the conned party, the creditors. If the Rebels directors themselves have given the club their money, 6mil worth right, why aren’t they also listed as sitting with RA and the Tax office? And the legal threat was either way, new Rebels or defunct, I can’t see how RA assume the threat was less likely enough to warrant comment about it in this article. Surely RA ignore that and only worry about whether they can defend it or not, which they have reported as being comfortable with. So in effect wouldn’t it be more accurate to say there is no further legal threat (or worry) in denying the deal. Unless the directors have reneged on that. > Returns of a Japanese team or even Argentinean side, the Jaguares, were said to be on the cards, as were the ideas of standing up brand new teams in Hawaii or even Los Angeles – crazy ideas that seemingly forgot the time zone issues often cited as a turn-off for viewers when the competition contained teams from South Africa. Those timezones are great for SR and are what will probably be needed to unlock its future (cant see it remaining without _atleast _help from Aus), day games here are night games on the West Coast of america, were potential viewers triple, win win. With one of the best and easiest ways to unlock that being to play games or a host a team there. Less good the further across Aus you get though. Jaguares wouldn’t be the same Jaguares, but I still would think it’s better having them than keeping the Rebels. The other options aren’t really realistic 25’ options, no. From reading this authors last article I think if the new board can get the investment they seem to be confident in, you keeping them simply for the amount of money they’ll be investing in the game. Then ditch them later if they’re not good enough without such a high budget. Use them to get Jaguares reintergration stronger, with more key players on board, and have success drive success.
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