mens
international
Tana Umaga says Jordie Barrett is on his way to becoming one All black people brilliantly, with his last appearance in the black jersey among the best of his 86-Test career.
Barrett’s 16-tackle, 13-carry performance against the Wallabies in Saturday’s defense of the Bledisloe Cup earned plenty of praise, the latest in a stellar season for the inside centre, who has played a big hand in lifting Hurricanes to drought Super Rugby Pacific title in June.
Former All Blacks captain Umaga played for the Canes 122 times through some iconic eras alongside legendary teammates, but never had the pleasure of lifting the trophy at the end of the season. Now defensive coach Barrett and New Zealand team, Umaga was asked what advice he would give the star midfielder to help him reach new heights in the black jersey.
“No, it’s really the other way around,” Umaga replied in the media session after the team’s practice on Tuesday. “I keep saying ‘God, I wish I had the skills you have when I was playing; I wish I was as fit as you.’
“I think he’s going to be one of the best we’ve had. I think there’s still room for him to grow.”
“One of those attributes that all our good midfielders have is that he’s a competitor; he wants to compete every moment, every match. His consistency in his performance and expectations of others but more than himself, I think he’s right up there with some of the best we’ve ever had.”
The All Blacks extended their run as Bledisloe Cup holders to 24 consecutive years with victory at Eden Park, leaving nothing but pride on the line going into this weekend’s Sydney clash. But even a 50-19 win leaves room for improvement and Umaga has warned his troops that their opponents will return as a different beast on home soil.
“There’s always things we can work on from the weekend and I’m sure the quality of Les Kiss and his staff and players will be looking for an answer and we know they’ll be up for it this weekend; they’re at home too.
“We know we have to do better; we can’t just rest on our laurels and pat ourselves on the back for what we accomplished last week. We did that, and now we have to turn around and ask, how can we back that up?”
