Leinster players give their verdict on Jordie Barrett as All Blacks star receives ‘royal treatment’

Jordie Barrett has made a strong first impression on the Leinster squad as his stint in Dublin gets underway this week.

The experienced All Black signed for Leinster on a short-term deal until the end of the season as part of New Zealand Rugby’s sabbatical structure which allows players to play overseas in small blocks.

Most players from New Zealand head to Japan for their stint abroad but Barrett chose to move to the high-powered Leinster in a much-anticipated move.

‘Royal’ welcome

The star centre revealed he was welcomed by Tadhg Furlong and has enjoyed being in the set-up thus far.

“It’s great to be here, got the royal treatment, picked up at the airport by Tadhg Furlong, great to be welcomed by someone like that,” Barrett told Leinster TV.

“It’s nice to be able to rub shoulders with a lot of boys this week, the internationals are away so I’ve been seeing plenty of fresh faces in and around the environment and it’s a special time that I’m very much looking forward to.”

The All Black reveals he has been treated differently in Dublin this time around and has felt very welcomed in the city.

“Yeah, it was a special week,” Barrett said. “It was one I was looking forward to the minute I signed with Leinster.

“Had it marked in the calendar and it was such a great week. It was different from the times I’ve been in Dublin before.

“There were plenty of people around Dublin that were happy that I was in Dublin and they kept saying to me ‘welcome to Leinster’ and that they were glad to have me, so that was pretty special.

“It was a funny feeling playing against a few of the Irish boys who are here with Leinster and knowing that I’ll be hopefully chucking on a jersey beside them in a few weeks time, so it’s pretty special.”

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Impressing the locals

Forwards coach Robin McBryde revealed that Barrett is looking healthy and joked that he should be in the second-row.

“Yeah, he hasn’t undergone all the protocols but it is one day at a time and we’ll just monitor how he progresses with a bit more intensity but he is looking good anyway,” said McBryde.

“I’m sure he is a second row, looking at the size of him. He’s good.”

Meanwhile, in the back division, Barrett has already made his mark with Jordan Larmour, who offered high praise for the superstar.

“He’s been great,” said Larmour. “His first training session with everyone went great so everyone is just trying to get him up to speed as quickly as possible but he is doing very well and he’s obviously an unbelievable player.

“He is world-class. So it will be pretty cool hopefully to play a lot with him this season and learn from him through his experiences, his knowledge and everything he has done in the game so far.”

Leinster travel to Bristol this weekend in the Champions Cup and it is unclear whether or not Barrett will make his debut. Regardless, Leo Cullen’s side will hope the All Black can inspire an end to a trophyless period dating back to 2021.

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