Beauden Barrett ruled ineligible for Blues' playoff run

Beauden Barrett will not suit up for the Blues in 2024 despite a late push by the injury-plagued Auckland club to bring their star playmaker back early for the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs.

The news was expected but ultimately confirmed this week by Super Rugby Pacific tournament director Matt Barlow, via the New Zealand publication Stuff.

April 1st is the cut-off date for playoff eligibility in the context of players returning from overseas contracts, meaning Barrett, along with his fellow senior All Blacks returning from short-term Japan contracts, does not meet the criteria.

The relevant rules are implemented with the aim to protect the "integrity of the competition and ensure fairness for all teams," Barlow said in his statement issued to Stuff.

"This is in alignment with World Rugby Regulations which precludes the holding of dual contracts.

"SRP teams are permitted to apply for dispensation to the tournament director for a player who has arrived after April 1, but dispensation can only be granted in the event the arriving player has played four regular season matches and signed a contract to play in SRP the following year.

"Beauden Barrett was not able to meet the stipulated requirements for dispensation and as such he has been ruled ineligible for SRP finals 2024.''

This doesn't mean Barrett is ineligible for the Blues' final game of the regular season - a clash with the Chiefs in Auckland - but the purpose of his potential involvement in that match is sure to be eliminated following this confirmation.

On the other side of that contest is a Chiefs outfit with a recent addition to camp themselves in the form of former All Blacks captain Sam Cane.

While Blues coach Vern Cotter had described his team's interest in bringing Barrett back as a "you never know" situation, referring to both the eligibility criteria and his squad's injury status, Chiefs boss Clayton McMillan revealed his camp had taken a more proactive approach to testing the eligibility waters ahead of Cane's return.

"I don't know how much to read into that," McMillan said last week. "Is it just a bit of noise to bring some attention to the Blues or is it legitimate, I'm not too sure. If it's legitimate, I know there's a process to be followed, one that we looked into ourselves, about a month ago."

Cane wasn't necessarily the target of that query though, with All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick mentioned amongst the Chiefs' injury troubles in the second row.

"We were told in pretty explicit terms that we may have been able to make a case for it to play round-robin games, but there was no chance he could play finals."

The Blues relinquished their commanding grasp on the top spot on the Super Rugby Pacific table - and therefore homefield advantage throughout the playoffs - over the weekend with a loss to traditional foes the Crusaders in Christchurch, leaving their regular season finale to determine their potential playoff travel fate.