‘Jordie must prove himself again’
Stephen Donald and Jeff Wilson expect Jordie Barrett to return to New Zealand from Leinster “underdone” having played in the “very, very low level” Vodacom URC.
The two former All Blacks were discussing Barrett’s selection for July’s three-Test home series against France during The Breakdown TV show.
The 28-year-old centre, who joined the Irish giants on a six-month sabbatical at the end of last year, has been in outstanding form in both the URC and Investec Champions Cup.
Donald said players who had participated in Super Rugby Pacific should initially get preference over Barrett when it came to All Blacks team selection.
“The URC competition is probably a low, a very, very low level compared to Super Rugby, the Champions Cup stuff certainly would be [of the same level].
“Would I pick him in the squad? Yes, of course, he’s the vice-captain remember. Would I start him? Not necessarily, and nothing to do with his form, but more of a reward for the boys who have been in Super Rugby and played well all year.
“So Jordie yes, select him straight away, would I start him straight away in Test one against France? Possibly not.”
Wilson joked that Barrett may be “underdone” ahead of the Test season having spent a lot of time playing golf in Ireland, before agreeing with Donald that New Zealand-based players will be in better shape to face France.
“You have to have a huge amount of trust if you’re the All Blacks coaches and selectors in players if you’re going to put them straight back into the international environment,” he said.
“The fact that you may have conversations with the player, you can look at as much footage as you like, but ultimately you don’t know what’s that compared to what’s happening right in front of you, players you’re seeing week in and week out.
“But ultimately, the fact that guys are hardened having gone through a Super Rugby campaign, and they were to come off the back of what’s going to be a challenging playoff series.
“I look at this and think that he’ll have to come back and prove himself once again. He’s a player who would look at his 2024 and go I’d like to have a bigger impact on the All Blacks in 2025 than I did in that season.”
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