Dane Coles reveals 'ruthless banter' in All Blacks camp after Beauden Barrett's Blues announcement

NZ Herald

Dane Coles says he's "back on speaking terms" with Beauden Barrett, after the star All Black playmaker quit the Hurricanes for the Blues.

Speaking after the All Blacks arrived in Buenos Aires, All Blacks hooker Coles said he was "pretty gutted" at Barrett's decision.

Coles jokingly said all was not forgotten after the All Blacks assembled prior to Sunday morning's test against the Pumas.

"We had some activity and we were telling him to go off with the Blues boys," Coles told Radio Sport.

"The banter early on would have been ruthless, but as long as we remain friends and mates.

"The first couple of days I didn't want to see his face. I was pretty gutted. But you've got to push that aside.

"We're on speaking terms now and it's part of rugby. He's got to look out for his family."

All Black veterans Coles and Barrett have been Hurricanes teammates since 2011.

Coles said Barrett had let him in on the Blues news just before the official announcement, although there hadn't been much discussion before that.

"At the end of the day it is up to the individual," Coles said.

"We might have had a yarn on Sunday after the (Super Rugby) semifinal loss - but it was a few beers deep and probably didn't make much sense."