The fabulous Barrett brothers
One of the perks of seniority in the All Blacks, and in a family, is you get to dish out the nicknames. It’s fair to say Beauden Barrett is revelling in that status right now.
The special feature of Steve Hansen’s All Blacks squad of 33 to face the British and Irish Lions in a three-test series was the inclusion of the three brothers Barrett, Beauden, 26, Scott, 24, and 20-year-old Jordie who was one of two uncapped players named.
It is the first time three siblings have been included in the same All Blacks squad, though not, notably, the first time these three have gathered together for the finest rugby team on the planet. On last November’s tour, Beauden and Scott were full members of the travelling party and Jordie was included in a non-playing role under the team’s apprentice scheme. Now they’re all fully fledged All Blacks and the next step is to make history and take the field together in the same squad. That really would be something.
It will also be a family first, as these three brothers have never played in the same team before, at any level. Closest they’ve come is two together which has been done a bit, and most recently by Beauden and Jordie who are team-mates with the Hurricanes.
Scott, of course, has flown the family coop to throw his lot in with the Crusaders, though he made three of his four test appearances last November alongside Beauden, who has been capped 49 times and is World Rugby’s player of the year.
The trio faced the media at the team hotel in Auckland yesterday, three peas in the pod, facial features strikingly similar, if not body shapes. Which brings us to the nickname situation. Beauden was asked if he still saw Jordie as the ‘‘baby’’ brother.
‘‘That nickname starting with ‘B’ slips out every now and again,’’ replied Beauden, a grin broadening across his face. ‘‘We used to call him Bub because he was the youngest boy (there are five boys and three girls in total in the family).
‘‘But I call him Udon now. Udon, like the skinny white noodle. That’s his new nickname. I think he prefers that over Bub.’’
Jordie, who is remarkably tall (1.95m) for a fullback and towers over the 1.87m Beauden, just grinned and blushed. He knows too well when big brother gets the final word.
As the three deal with a volley of questions around their upbringing, family and rugby ambitions, it becomes clear they have more in common than the Barrett jawline. They’re country boys, raised on the family Taranaki dairy farm, and there’s a striking similarity in attitude and character.
Beauden, being the senior All Black, is the most comfortable in this situation, and being the eldest of the three he is happy as chief spokesman. But the other two chime in with their own snippets when they’re addressed.
They’re asked about their special genes, and particularly the viewpoint from those who shared the same playing era as their father, Taranaki legend Kevin ‘Smiley’ Barrett, that they got all their talent from their mum, Robyn.
‘‘They do say that,’’ says Beauden. ‘‘Mum was a pretty talented athlete, and they all say the speed comes from Mum and the size and workrate would come from Dad. I guess it’s a good mixture, sitting here today.’’
Scott: ‘‘Mum works pretty hard around the farm. I don’t know if you haven’t seen that.’’
But Beauden agreed their upbringing has shaped their sporting endeavour.
‘‘If you live on a farm you appreciate you can work countless hours and there’s always work to be done. We saw Mum and Dad doing that and coming home to cook us dinner and get us ready for school. If you relate that to your rugby it’s always striving to be the best you can be, and that is endless as well.’’
They talked about their countless backyard hours playing cricket, rugby and whatever else drove them at the time. Beauden recalled trying to emulate Christian Cullen, and Jordie ending up crying a lot.
Jordie: ‘‘We played all sorts in the backyard, but mostly cricket and I was always just trying to match these guys. The rugby games I was in tears most times and couldn’t really participate.
‘‘No one was supervising, and I think I was hung out to dry there.’’
Beauden: ‘‘Mum would call for dinner, and it would always go 10 minutes extra. It would be most likely him (Jordie) flying at you, getting up crying and he would come back that little bit harder next time.’’
The ribbing continues from Beauden: ‘‘Being a big family, we’re always handing down clothes. I think the first time Jordie had clothes of his own was when he left school. He’s splashing out a bit these days.’’ Do they give each other feedback? Beauden: ‘‘Jordie has been getting it all year, I’ve been getting it all year. I haven’t had to tell Scott too often. but in time.’’
Scott: ‘‘He gave me a bit of feedback when we played them. He said ‘you’re too slow’ when I was trying to charge him down. That was helpful.’’
For the record they’re close off the field too, but aren’t rooming together.
Special times. Dad is certainly earning his nickname.