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There are only two weeks left until the Wallabies’ trip New Zealand for the Bledisloe Cup Series, ex All black people Captain Scott Barrett is racing to be named in Dave Rennie’s 34-man squad.
Barrett has not featured for the All Blacks since last year’s end-of-year tour, taking almost the entire season off Super Rugby Pacific on vacation without playing.
His return was scheduled before the start of the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs with the Crusaders, but a back injury scuppered any chance of him donning the red and black jersey in 2026.
The former captain is yet to take the field in 2026, but has been training with him Taranaki for a few weeks as the return to action approaches.
Whether Barrett will feature for Taranaki against Hawke’s Bay on Sunday afternoon remains to be seen, but Rennie expects the 89-Test veteran to be available for Saturday, October 10, against the Wallabies at Eden Park.
He The collapse of Sky Sportsformer All Blacks Jeff Wilson and Mils Muliaina discussed where Barrett might fit in the future.
“I like him. I think he likes (coming right back). I mean, his experience, but also his physicality,” Muliaina explained.
“I think he’s just passing to that side. Who’s missing? Well, we’ve got a couple of injuries right now; do we actually need to pull anybody? You probably just walk right in.”
“But also his ability to play six and four. He’ll be determined to come back. I think the other side of that is, we’ve kind of focused on his ability as a captain; sometimes you have to put that aside and forget his ability as a player himself.”
“He brings that physicality. He’s tall, but he can also play both positions. For me, he’s definitely back in the team. Is he going to start right away? I’m not sure.”
Former Springboks halfback Kevin Putt has question marks over possibly powering the locks if Barrett returns.
“No, I agree with Mills. But I don’t think you can rule someone out yet. I think Fabian Holland is definitely going to stay there. I think he’s one of the boys for the future who is doing extremely well,” Putt said in his first appearance on The Breakdown.
“I’m always concerned about the injury list. We seem to be losing some puddles of late, and again, we look back at what we’ve just talked about. That game-time management is essential. Barrett is an 80-minute player. That’s why we need him back.
Wilson agrees with Muliain and Putt, but sees a different role for Barrett than some might expect.
“I look at Scott Barrett, and I go, I’d like to give him a couple of games for Taranaki, get him through it. Whether they can make the play-offs, I’m not sure, because it will be important if he gets more rugby.”
“But I believe they brought him right back, and I have no doubt he would have done the job.
“It’s just whether they’ve taken Tupou Vaa’I as this option at six because Scott Barrett, then, to me, fits that mold. If he’s fit and healthy and can play that role, suddenly that gives us some flexibility around our lock position.
“But Tuipolotu, Lord, Darry, Vaa’i and Holland. We’ve got a nice group; I know some guys have picked up some flaws, but for me, I’m not sure maybe we should take Patrick Tuipolotu on the end-of-year tour.
“If we’re trying to stretch him (Tuipulotu) towards the Rugby World Cup, maybe he’s the guy Scott Barrett comes to that. But for me, you know, I’d like to see him involved in the All Blacks. He was someone who would fit the bill.”