Jordie Barrett gives forthright verdict on Leinster’s controversial Champions Cup selection decision
All Blacks and Leinster inside centre Jordie Barrett.
Jordie Barrett has revealed that being selected to start on the replacements bench for one of Leinster’s biggest games of the season “was always part of the conversation” after the decision led to a huge outcry.
Barrett recently returned to New Zealand from a six-month sabbatical with Leinster and is expected to be the All Blacks’ first choice inside centre when they host France in a three-Test series.
During his sabbatical, he played a big part during the Irish province’s successful United Rugby Championship (URC) campaign which saw them cruise to a 32-7 triumph over the Bulls in the final at Croke Park earlier this month.
Leinster’s selection decision backfired
However, there was a great uproar amongst Leinster supporters after they suffered a 37-34 defeat to Northampton Saints in last month’s Investec Champions Cup semi-final at the Aviva Stadium.
Barrett had done brilliantly since joining Leinster last December but the controversial decision to start him on the replacements bench for such a crucial game baffled the club’s fans.
Leinster’s coaching staff were called “arrogant” by England legend Ben Youngs on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast as the decision to leave Barrett on the bench backfired spectacularly.
The Irish province’s senior coach Jacques Nienaber was left to defend the decision and pointed out that they had two senior Ireland internationals in Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose who started in midfield for them in that crucial encounter.
It essentially meant that Leinster’s marquee signing, Barrett, was rotated for the do-or-die fixture.
“That was always part of the conversation,” Barrett told reporters at an All Blacks training session in Auckland on Saturday. “Leinster had a strong squad and a lot of Irish influence.
“Believe it or not, in today’s game, you can get just as much out of being on the bench, or even outside of the 23.
‘We had to get the balance right’
“It’s a long season, we had to get the balance right, and we sort of did in the end.”
Barrett went on to play a crucial role in Leinster’s successful URC season as he started all five their remaining matches of that campaign and revealed that he had an enjoyable stint up north.
“It was a great experience for me,” he said.
“And just learning through the experiences of playing in a different hemisphere, for a club, and in South Africa as well. A bit of French and English influence too, playing against those sides in European Cup games.”
Speaking of South Africa, during his time at Leinster, Barrett spent plenty of time in the company of former Springboks head coach Nienaber and it gave him the opportunity to tap into the mentality of a man who played a big part in helping the Boks win back-to-back Rugby World Cups in Japan in 2019 and France in 2023.
“He was great, very different, a good man, a different style and approach and way of thinking,” Barrett said.
Next season sees fellow All Blacks midfielder Rieko Ioane following in his footsteps by taking a sabbatical at Leinster and when asked if he has any advice for his international team-mate, Barrett said: “Be an open book, you don’t know what you don’t know, and I learned so much that I’ll carry forward for the rest of my career.”