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Beauden Barrett is discovering many things as he prepares for this final phase of his career with the All Blacks. Between a newborn baby and a persistent Achilles tendon problem, fit is the name of the game for the classy utility runner.
Barrett was named fullback for the second round of the Bledisloe Cup against the Wallabies on Sunday at Eden Park (kickoff at 4pm), where he will resume his dual role as playmaker alongside Richie Mo’unga. He revealed on Friday that he feels much better this week than the last, when the Achilles blew up and he belatedly retired.
Part of that is physical and part mental.
Barrett, who has had Achilles’ problem for a year and a half, says the key to him being at the forefront of a test is managing the load correctly throughout the week. He is fully confident that following a change between Wellington and Auckland, his medical and training team have made the necessary adjustments.
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She is also in unbelievably good mental space after spending a good chunk of the week at home in Auckland with new baby Billie Rose.
The first is the first. The new dad is, it’s fair to say, a new man after the arrival of the first little bundle of joy that he and his wife Hannah have.
“I love parenthood,” Barrett said. “It’s the best thing that happened to me. I’ve been managing time at home and time at the hotel. Striking that balance is important this week because I certainly have a lot of fun going home to little Billie.
“So yeah, it’s been a lot of fun so far.”
Mark Baker / AP
Beauden Barrett will resume his dual role as playmaker with Richie Mo’unga at Bledisloe II on Sunday.
Not that it was all baby and rugby. Barrett still found time to fit in his round of golf on his day off Thursday, where he shot 79 at Akarana.
“In fact, I’ve only played four games in about 11 weeks, so he’s suffered,” he said with a smile. “But I wouldn’t trade that for anything … it wasn’t my best round, but it was good to play golf again.”
Most notably, Barrett spoke about his ongoing Achilles tendon problem dating back to before last year’s World Cup in Japan.
“It needs to be managed,” he revealed. “Free time is needed. A break will not cure it. It’s about managing my load in the training week so there are no spikes. It feels great and we have done well this week.
“I had it at the beginning of the World Cup and at the end I felt great. It’s about having a consistent plan under a medical team and trusting that plan. I am completely confident that they will get me where I need to be in several weeks. “
The 29-year-old two-time World Player of the Year also provided valuable insight into the All Blacks psyche around finding lost goals at the end of close matches. They were heavily criticized for failing to prepare for a 3-point attempt at the end of last week’s 16-16 stalemate at Bledisloe I.
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The All Blacks star admitted that it had been a while since he did a sprint session due to his leg injury.
“I think it’s a mindset thing,” he said of the All Blacks’ final game plan. “We always look for 5 points on a lost goal. As a matter of game awareness, we always have to be aware of that. “Naturally, you’d wait for that arm to go away and roll the dice with an offensive play or a penalty-advantage drop-kick, but until then we’re thinking about playing for a penalty or a try.”
Last week in Wellington, Barrett, who was running down the touchline, endorsed the way his teammate played it.
“I was liking what we were doing. It’s an easy solution to go back in there and do it, and Richie was thinking about doing it. We just have to pull the trigger. I don’t blame anyone for what we did, it was just the execution. “
Phil Walter / Getty Images
All Black Beauden Barrett: ‘I love parenthood. It’s the best thing that happened to me “.
Barrett said there had been an “unknown” factor at last week’s Bledisloe with both teams making their first starts of the year. He highlighted the strong game of ball in hand by runner Nic White and a lot of play with the number 9 running.
“There weren’t too many surprises, but they played a pretty efficient game and we have to figure out how to stop that,” he said. “We cannot survive on 40 percent possession and seek to dominate a game. It’s been a great focus to take care of that ball and as a back unit we all have to be responsible for that. “
The 83-test veteran says it feels like two years since his last race with the All Blacks (November 1 of last year was his last test) but he appreciates that this is one of the most important.
“It is important [we make a statement]. We take great pride in how we prepare and perform and we never want to drop the All Blacks jersey. We want to recover after last week. “
How good would that be? A bouncing screen in front of your bouncing baby, Billie Rose.
