Ex-All Black pinpoints the ‘weird’ advantage ‘freakish’ Jordie Barrett has in Scott Robertson’s squad
Jordie Barrett will be the 'best prepared' All Blacks player for the French Series according to James Parsons.
Jordie Barrett is the ‘best prepared’ All Blacks star ahead of the three-Test series against France, according to former hooker James Parsons.
The youngest of the Barrett brothers has spent the past six months plying his trade with Irish province Leinster, helping the side end their four-year wait for a trophy by defeating the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship Final.
Barrett scored a blinder of a try after volleying the ball after a chip over the top from scrum-half Luke McGrath before speeding away to regather and dive over the line at the iconic Croke Park.
That was the 28-year-old’s main highlight of the game as Leinster cruised to a 32-7 victory, but he played a pivotal role through their campaigns in both the URC and Investec Champions Cup.
Going above and beyond
His time with the Irish province has prepared him well for the All Blacks‘ three Tests against Les Bleus, according to Parsons, with Barrett bringing back a lot of insight from the analysis done on the French players and clubs.
“He’s going above and beyond and if you look at it, a weird thing with Jordie Barrett is he’s probably the best prepared because he’s played against some French players,” Parsons said on the Aotearoa Rugby Podcast.
“He’s been up there and he’s been playing club rugby against them. So he has felt the vibe and understands the style and can probably bring back a lot in terms of the analysis work they would have done through the Champions Cup.
“He scored probably the best try of the season, that was some try.
“The skill set of that man is just freakish.”
Nature of the beast
Leinster academy star Fintan Gunne came off the bench in the latter stages of the match and scored the last try of the match, an attack that Parsons believes Barrett played a crucial role in as he tightened up the Bulls’ defence.
“Even the last try, the down line he ran,” the former Blues front-rower marvelled.
“Because he’s such a threat it just tightens the Bulls’ defence and it’s out the back to Gunne, the replacement half-back, who went all the way – he still had a lot to do, it was an impressive try, but the space he created.
“You look at it, at 32-7, seven line breaks by Leinster to zero for the Bulls and I think that gives you an indication of the attacking prowess of that Leinster side is just world class and Jordie is a massive part of that.
“They are an international team, Jake White felt like he was behind the eight ball from the get-go in terms of normally 23 international players, but that’s the nature of the beast.”
