Rugby: All Blacks star Beauden Barrett and his wife Hannah welcome a baby girl

All Blacks star Beauden Barrett and his wife Hannah have welcomed their daughter into the world.

Barrett took to Instagram to announce the arrival of Billie Rose Barrett.

“Billie Rose Barrett, our little princess,” Barrett said. “Born 9/23/20. I’m so proud of you @hannahlaity you were amazing.”

“Welcome to the world, little Billie Rose Barrett,” Hannah added on her Instagram. “You are an absolute superstar and your mom and dad love you very much.”

The couple got married early last year, before moving to Auckland. With the move, Barrett joined the Blues from the Hurricanes.

Last week, Barrett said he was taking a wait-and-see approach to his availability at the upcoming Rugby Championship after a news outlet suggested some All Blacks were considering withdrawing from the competition for family reasons.

Barrett was interviewed at Gold AM’s Country Sport Breakfast and said he thought “journalists are getting a little excited, they have too much time to think about what ifs and all that sort of thing.”

But he wasn’t definitive about his availability either, just saying that Taranaki’s Ranfurly Shield challenge against Canterbury last weekend “could be my last game in a couple of weeks.”

“We don’t have much in front of us, in facts and details. It is difficult to make a decision,” he said.

“As professional rugby players, we have to show up and take action – you can’t wear the black jersey every day. It’s not something you take lightly, that decision.

“This changes every day, it is not even confirmed that South Africa and Argentina will pass. There is a lot of water to pass under the bridge.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand Rugby is furious after the announcement of the Rugby Championship schedule that has the All Blacks playing their last match in Australia on Saturday 12 December, which is a change from the original schedule.

The latest scheduled clash against the Wallabies means players and staff will be trapped in 14-day managed isolation over Christmas, a situation NZR hoped to avoid.

Sanzaar and the Rugby Australia hosts announced the match schedule for the Championship, with the All Blacks scheduled to play Australia in Brisbane on Saturday 7 November and Argentina the following Saturday in Sydney on 14 November.

The team is scheduled to play back-to-back tests against South Africa in Sydney on November 21 and Newcastle on Saturday November 28, with a second test against Argentina on Saturday December 5 in Sydney and a final game scheduled against the Wallabies. in Sydney on Saturday December 12th.