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All black people senior assistant coach Neil Barnes has defended the selection of veteran 145-Test Beauden Barrett, after the playmaker was named in a 34-man squad to take on the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup.
Barnes, who is part of the All Blacks selection panel along with Dave Rennie and Sir Graham Henry, had a direct answer to why the playmaker was selected.
Barrett was named in the outside backs group, while the Highlanders’ Josh Jacomb and the Crusaders’ Richie Mo’unga were named as the team’s “top fives”.
The Blues the playmaker has featured mostly at full-back during his limited minutes in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, but clearly remains a possible option at No.10 with Ruben Love out with an ankle injury.
I’m talking to Millsy & Guy he Sport Nation NZBarnes made it clear why Barrett came to the team.
“Because he’s the next best player. It’s quite simple. It’s not a charity, as Simon Parker said at one stage,” Barnes said.
“He’s not a concern, for us. He’s the next best player in the positions he’s covering at the moment, and he’s got that experience to bring to the paddock.”
The All Blacks 2IC suggested their decision might have been different at another stage Rugby World Cup cycle.
“Yeah. If you’re right, we’ve had the World Cup in three years or so. You might say, well, let’s invest in the next cab out of the range, but the World Cup is next year, and right now, the other guys haven’t made it.
“So I can promise you that they don’t worry about him. He’s earned his rewards by what he does in the paddock.”
Despite naming Love at number 10 for the first six Tests of the 2026 season under Rennie, the All Blacks will be forced to rotate in October, with just Jacomb and Mo’unga as the team’s first five.
When asked about the race for the top five, Barnes said if you look at the first six Tests this year, it’s clear who their No.1 guy is.
“I think at the time in South Africa we actually thought Ruben was the best person for the job because Richie had just come back, he was putting his feet under the table,” Barnes told Sport Nation on Tuesday.
“It was probably aligned with his ankle. He had a lot of weight, and we actually thought at that stage Richie understood everything we were doing, and we were all aligned. And it was time to give him that opportunity to see what he could do.”
“So we’re very fortunate to have a person with that experience to lean on. You still have a person with 145 Test caps sitting there who can step up.”
“There was Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie, who is more than useful at 10. Jacomb comes in underneath. We’re blessed with what we have there, so there’s a lot of options.”
“So at this point, obviously, Richie (Mo’unga) would have the upper hand.”
