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What Beauden Barrett's new deal means for Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie
By Ben Smith
Re-signing Beauden Barrett will be well worth it for New Zealand Rugby and the All Blacks as they look to fill the void left by Richie Mo’unga.
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Once thought to be finished with his international career, Barrett’s new deal until the end of 2027 will see him aim for his fourth Rugby World Cup where he will be 36 years old.
The big question will be whether he is still seen as a fullback or as a No 10 by incoming head coach Scott Robertson.
Despite the physical demands of playing at the back, it stands to reason that Barrett will still be able to play at a high level as a No 15 for at least two more seasons.
Former All Black fullback Ben Smith produced one of his greatest seasons in black at age 33 before being left out of the first-choice side at 34 in 2019.
Granted, he was being used as a right winger then. In his final game against Wales in the bronze final, Smith showed what he could still do with a two try performance.
Barrett is 32 and could still be the All Blacks first-choice fullback until the end of 2025.
There will be many calling for Will Jordan to take over with the 25-year-old entering his prime as an athlete.
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Whilst Jordan is one of the best attacking players on the planet, where he cannot yet match Barrett is in the kicking department.
Many were extremely critical of the volume of kicking Barrett undertook in big games at the Rugby World Cup without recognising the context.
His kicking was a necessity in most cases to relieve pressure from the backfield, returning serve from a position where most of his teammates were offside.
Barrett’s management of messy situations in the backfield is world class, whether with cover tackles or kick coverage. Few can offer better.
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Jordan has a higher kick error rate on the low volume he is required to make as a winger. It’s accuracy in this part of the game that needs to improve.
While Barrett is available, he should still be starting over Jordan for this reason. Until Barrett’s performances decline significantly, it’s not the time to hand over the 15 jersey.
The Crusaders’ flyer is still a guaranteed starter on the right wing and there are many ways to utilise Jordan’s attacking skillset and dangerous running game there.
With Mo’unga departing, there might be temptation to move Barrett back into the No 10 jersey to offer experience to the role.
However, with Barrett comfortably established at the back since his shift there in 2019 it’s time to give Damian McKenzie the role.
McKenzie is a better ball player than Barrett and at 28-years-old has plenty of experience himself since his Test debut in 2016.
During Barrett’s prime years at No 10 they formed a 10-15 combination that was meant to be the foundation of the attack for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Injury to McKenzie foiled that plan and opened the door for Mo’unga, but now they have a chance to rebuild that partnership with the roles reversed.
In Mendoza this year against Argentina we saw McKenzie fire at first five-eighth with three try assists and Barrett had an equally productive day at fullback with a try and try assist himself.
Dan Carter was 33 when he produced his all-time great run to help the All Blacks to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and while Barrett will have a few extra miles on the body, there is no reason why he can’t help do the same in 2027.
Carter battled through longer-term injuries throughout his New Zealand career that Barrett has not, which will prove telling over this final chapter.
The two-time World Rugby Player of the Year is past his prime when it comes to his blistering speed, but that doesn’t mean his value has diminished.
This deal is a big boost for the All Blacks ahead of the next chapter under Scott Robertson.
It means Barrett will most probably play until 2027. Maybe the World Cup even.
Beaudy’s still got some gas in the tank and some scores to settle. Good to see he’s giving himself another shot, I for one think he’s still the best #10 option. Mounga was a bit weak off the T and that proved to be our downfall in the WC.
Weak in a few other area’s too sadly. Mounga leaving has not left a hole.
Richie missed a corner conversion & Jordie missed a late penalty but no, our downfall was our crap discipline.
Big fan of WJ, but this article is spot on. BB's kicking isn't perfect, but Jordan's still some way behind. If Jordan can improve in that area, he's going to be a force to be reckoned with at 15. BB is a very good tackler and often a try saver, but WJ is even better. They should bring Dan Carter in to give WJ a training intensive.
Razor has a style in place already, Dmac will be the perfect fit to drop back and provide that tactic kicking, even better than how Razor used Mounga at it for the Saders.
We all get older…
Gee that's all a bit presumptuous isn’t it?
I'd say Beudan has peaked already - we haven't seen his great acceleration of days gone by, what we have seen is his aimless kicking instead.
Is it though? We don’t know the details of his deal, presumably it will remain a tightly guarded secret, but it seems NZR have committed a lot of resources to him. No doubt that’s with the expectation he’ll be wearing black. I know we like to believe the ABs are selected purely on form, but is that really true anymore? It’s a bit like Inter Miami buying Messi and not picking him because he’s out of form. It’s difficult to believe NZR could afford to keep Barrett purely based on a SR salary.
Will be great to not have BB playing here .one of reasons why we run round like headless chickens. BB is why we did not see mounga at his brilliant best cause BB and Jodie would try run every move .There were times when mounga was covering fullback cause players were all over the place, we had props locks in the backline.But l guess Foster had a big day in that.The sooner BB is out all blacks selection the better. We do not have to have three Barrett's in the team. Scott is the best by far and should be there.
Mounga’s “best” just isnt test rugby standard.
BB is passed it,if people still believe he has lots to offer then our back line is in deep trouble still.Since he left Wellington he has never been the same,be surprised if RAZOR hasn't got players in mind ,who are match winners that have class now.There will be a few crusaders in the all blacks because they play as a team and have a game plan ,not just kick kick kick .Our main worry l believe is our inside backs .RAZOR well bring the best out of our team but players passed it or not up to it are only slowing the team down.Hope we don't have another coach that picks players cause he likes them CAN NOT WAIT FOR OUR FIRST TEST. GO RAZOR
Beaudin Barrett will be a force to be reckoned with under Razor. Will Jordan will be Razor's #15, Beaudie will be #10, much in the same way Sexton was used by Ireland, & more. D-Mac will once again be a bench utility. Narawa, Reece, Telea, Clarke, will headline wing options. Reiko too? Midfield is stacked too. Jordie, ALB, Reiko?, Amua?, Havilli, amongst others. Newbies? The 9s will be interesting. Regardless, the cattle are there, the x factor will be how Razor puts the bits & pieces together to build a mean machine. Exciting times ahead.
Hmm with an eye on building for RWC 27, would Razor back BB as his 10 considering he’d be 36…? Sexton is an outlier and played a game far less dependent on athleticism and BB has never been a master tactician at 10 like Sexton. Love your confidence though.
Good to have the experience - can’t argue with the knock on Jordans kicking but you can manipulate this pretty easily with dropping 10 back on D etc. I think Dmac will surprise you and played a pretty mature season at 10 for Chiefs last year. Exciting times and one would expect a dark horse to contend for 10 throughout the cycle too.
No shortage of talent in 2024.
Barrett can’t fulfil that role with his passing game though. Will be interesting to see how Razor uses them all, especially Barrett.
Barrett’s deal shouldn’t mean anything for Dmac and Jordan this year. We’re told AB’s won’t be selected from overseas, and as of now Barrett has quit NZR and is contracted to an international employer. Dmac and Jordan have committed to Super Rugby and will slog it out for probably far less money than ‘rules don’t apply to me’ Barrett. What message does it send to those players and the Perofettas, Sullivans, Burkes etc if BB walks straight back into the AB team demanding a spot? He should have to earn it back on form, in NZ - those are the rules we are led to believe. Judging by the way he has played the last few years, he would struggle to do that on merit.
Barretts kicking game is the most dire of what is a terrible waekness in the NZ game. DMac is far superior and Shooter even better. Im tired of our line kicks on penalties and kickoff receipt exits barely making 10 m like a league kick, esp when we see the likes of Sexton and Ntamack peeling off 40 to 50 m with ease.
Barrett’s kicking game in general play is generally very good. Lots of people just “hate kicking” and with no wider view of the field in TV coverage it’s not always clear why someone is kicking the ball. But I agree his 22 exits are poor.
It’s not just Barrett. Mo’unga has even less range I think. Jordie and Jordan have big boots, but extremely inaccurate. It felt like a major weakness at the WC. Guaranteed way to have an attacking line out within 2 minutes of conceding points against us was just to kick off deep then wait for the shallow clearance.
I really don’t think we will see Beaudon Barrett in an All Black jersey again. Great in his day but too many flaws to his game now and doesn’t really spark anything from full back. Never convinced as the perfect no 10 and will quickly be usurped by the new young challengers and there are plenty ready to prove their worth.
Never convinced as the perfect no 10 but 2 times world player of the year at no 10, what more do you wants, how many times have Mo’unga won that title
I disagree but, actually, I think what he may be looking at himself is more the fly half role rather than fullback.
He essentially lost his place to Mo’unga in that role, and then switched to fullback to accommodate him. While there are some criticisms of his play in the role, he certainly has lots of experience in the first receiver role. With a new combination and a more direct runner at halfback, as opposed to the passing game of Smith, he could actually be world class again in his preferred role.
He’s 32 and I can easily see him having an Indian summer right up to the next World Cup.