All Blacks: Scott Barrett set to make long-awaited return to action
Former All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett is back to full fitness and will return to action this weekend in a National Provincial Championship (NPC) game for Taranaki.
Barrett has been sidelined for the entire season with a back injury and will start at lock in Taranaki’s clash against Hawke’s Bay at McLean Park in Napier on Sunday.
The match is a momentous one for Barrett as it will be just his second appearance for Taranaki, five years after he made his NPC debut and he will pack down in the second-row alongside fellow All Black Josh Lord.
Was last in action in 2025
Barrett was last in action for the All Blacks against Wales at the end of 2025 and after initially taking a sabbatical, he was set to play for the Crusaders during the latter stages of their 2026 Super Rugby Pacific campaign but that did not happen due to a bulging disc in his back that was putting pressure on a nerve.
He then had surgery to repair the damage to the injury, but that meant he was ruled out of the All Blacks’ Greatest Rivalry series against the Springboks.
In an interview with 1News, Barrett revealed that his injury “depowered my left side so I couldn’t really run and do the things required for my job as a rugby player so yeah, it’s nice to be in a position to pull on the jersey and represent Taranaki again.”
The 32-year-old was the All Blacks’ captain under former head coach Scott Robertson but when Dave Rennie took over the coaching reins, he appointed Ardie Savea as the men in black’s new skipper ahead of their Nations Championship Tests against France, Italy and Ireland in July.
Barrett admitted that New Zealand Rugby’s decision to part ways with Robertson put some strain on him.
“It was a challenging sort of 10 months, probably a challenging year to be honest, for me personally,” he said.
Had ‘a close relationship’ with Scott Robertson
“You have a close relationship with a head coach and when the team isn’t quite going that well and there’s a change like that, you probably reflect a little bit personally as your role is skipper at the time.”
Barrett also revealed that Rennie had contacted him to inform him that Savea would take over the All Blacks’ captaincy.
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“There was several conversations with Dave and I think ultimately that he made the decision and that was a different direction with Ardie,” he explained.
“I’ve had time to reflect and probably learn from that and ultimately put that behind me. If there’s an opportunity to wear the black jersey again, I’ll certainly give everything I’ve got for that team should that opportunity arise.”
The 89-Test international was an interested spectator during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series, which South Africa won 3-1 against New Zealand.
“It’s interesting actually as a fan watching on, cheering the brothers on. I guess I probably felt like a lot of Kiwis, a little bit gutted that we lost the series,” he said.
“A lot of areas to be proud of but certainly they exposed us and hurt us and the result was that.”
READ MORE: All Blacks: Ardie Savea set for lengthy stint on the sidelines as injury update provided
