Sir Steve Hansen: Beauden Barrett will produce ‘something special’ in Dave Rennie’s All Blacks team after Scott Robertson’s style didn’t suit him
Beauden Barrett and an inset of ex-All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen.
Sir Steve Hansen believes that Beauden Barrett wasn’t happy during Super Rugby Pacific this season, but the ex-All Blacks boss has backed him to thrive in Dave Rennie’s set-up.
The experienced playmaker was overlooked by the new head coach for the Nations Championship matches against France, Italy and Ireland in July, with Ruben Love selected at fly-half for all three Tests while Damian McKenzie started at full-back.
However, the 35-year-old gets his first appearance in the black jersey on Friday evening against the Stormers in the opening game of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour as he goes toe-to-toe with rookie Yaqeen Ahmed, who debuts for the Cape-based side.
Unhappy with Super Rugby
Hansen, who handed Barrett his All Blacks debut back in 2012 and regularly selected him throughout his tenure, believes that the new attacking structures in place under Rennie suit the playmaker more than the tactics deployed during Scott Robertson’s stint in charge.
Barrett didn’t have the finest 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season with the Blues, and Hansen says it was because he wasn’t happy, something he could tell by his body language having worked closely with him previously.
“I think the big thing is he’s enjoying it and I’m not so sure how much he enjoys Super Rugby,” the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning coach said on the Rugby Unity podcast.
“I had quite a lot to do with him, so I know his body language pretty well, and watching him during the Super season, he just didn’t look happy. But he certainly is at the moment.”
Wonderful team man
While the former New Zealand head coach knows that Barrett would have been frustrated by the lack of game time of late, he hailed his professionalism and has backed him to produce a statement performance in Cape Town.
“Look, he’s such a wonderful team man. He’s done that period where they brought him in and freshened him up and obviously given him a clear role to help Love and McKenzie, who played first five and ran the non-starting group, and help prepare the All Blacks. So, he’s got himself to a point now where he’s ready to play,” he continued.
“They think he’s ready to play. He has played 144 Test matches; he’s no dummy; he’s a smart player, very, very skillful, and a great team man. So, he will go out and give his best for the team. The style of rugby they’re playing will really suit him, I think.
“He’s a guy that loves to play with the ball. Over the last few Test matches, when he was playing, maybe the kicking game was what the previous coaches wanted, but I don’t think it really suits his style, so it’ll be interesting to see how he goes, but I’m sure we’ll see something special.
“He is a special man too off the park; he’s a big part of what the All Blacks are all about.”
Barrett is very, very competitive
While he is a team-first professional, Hansen added that Barrett is incredibly competitive and will have adapted to his new position in the pecking order after previously being the top dog for the All Blacks.
“He’s very, very competitive, but he’s also a team man first. He’s dealt with the period of not playing in two ways, I would imagine,” he said.
“One is to help the team, and two is to get himself ready when he does have the opportunity.
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“So, he’s been waiting patiently; he gets the opportunity, and he’ll just let it rip. As a player, particularly as an older player, you go through a period where you’re the top dog, and then you get to the top of the hill, and you’re starting to come down – there are other players coming up the other side who are starting to put pressure on you. And you’ve got two choices. You either allow that pressure to suck you down or you walk towards it. And he’s always been a guy who’s walked towards the pressure.
“They’ve got a great sports psych attached to the team in Gilbert Enoka. So any problems he’s having there, any self-doubt problems, he’ll see Gilbert, and he’ll get all the right messages, but I don’t imagine he’s having any. He loves the game; he’s got an opportunity; he’s really clear, as most of the team, I would suggest, on how they want to play, and that allows him to go express himself and have fun.”
