Beauden Barrett requested a significant All Blacks exemption that has never been allowed before. Liam Napier reveals why NZ Rugby said no.
New Zealand Rugby’s eligibility rules have survived a major test case after Beauden Barrett’s request to be selected for the All Blacks from offshore following next year’s WorldCup was rejected.
The Herald can reveal that prior to the All Blacks northern tour Barrett, through his agent, logged a request with New Zealand Rugby that would allow him to be selected for the national team as part of a two-year deal with an overseas club.
It is believed the proposal would have seen Barrett then return to New Zealand for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, with a view to potentially playing another World Cup.
All Blacks management are understood to have supported Barrett’s right to make the exemption request, and indicated the 112-test playmaker would be selected beyond the World Cup.
New Zealand Rugby’s long-standing eligibility policy requires players to feature within the country’s competitions – Super Rugby and the NPC – to be selected for the All Blacks.
Regular exceptions have, however, been made in recent times with Barrett, Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock injected straight into the All Blacks, without first playing Super Rugby or for their provinces, after their sabbatical stints in Japan.
Permitting Barrett to be selected while on a two-year deal abroad would be a significant leap – one the national body was not prepared to take.
Set against a backdrop of concern from some Super Rugby and provincial unions, the Herald understands the New Zealand Rugby board discussed the Barrett proposal but ultimately decided to knock back the request.
The board had to weigh the risk and reward scenario that pitted protecting Super Rugby’s retention aims and the message granting another exemption would send to New Zealand’s talent development pathways.
Inevitably, the potential precedent would also see other leading figures expect to be able to follow Barrett’s lead, too.
Barrett turns 33 in 2024, the year following the World Cup. While he is now considered the All Blacks first-choice fullback, with Richie Mo’unga favoured at first five-eighth and Jordie Barrett locking his presence outside him at No 12, the NZ Rugby board considered the increased risk profile attached to an aging athlete.
Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo'unga have been a regular partnership at 15 and 10. Photo / Photosport
The realisation is also dawning on some within New Zealand Rugby hierarchy that while sabbaticals have helped retain many senior All Blacks, Jerome Kaino is the only figure to return home immediately better than or equal to the influential player he departed.
Barrett is one of many All Blacks set to be in high demand post World Cup. The Herald understands he has fielded interest from French club Racing 92 and after spending one season with Suntory last year he has options to return to Japan, too.
The Japanese Top League, the increasingly favoured destination for elite All Blacks to cash in, is said to be rapidly changing its views on short term, stop-gap recruits however.
Ardie Savea, named the All Blacks best player for a second successive year on Thursday, has signed a six-month agreement with Kobe for the 2024 season – yet many Japanese clubs are now viewing such arrangements as more disruptive than they are worth.
The Japanese landscape is shifting towards signing foreign players on longer term deals that provide much more stability and value for money. This is why Barrett’s request to be selected while offshore for two years provides such a strong test case for NZ Rugby’s eligibility.
With the national body having rejected that request, Barrett is now believed to be reconsidering his post World Cup options as he retains a strong desire to represent the All Blacks.
Barrett’s future availability holds greater importance with Mo’unga expected to soon confirm his post World Cup departure to Japan on a long-term deal.
Damian McKenzie is also off contract at that same juncture. Should the Chiefs playmaker opt to leave then, too, the All Blacks would be left decidedly light on established first-five candidates.
Taranaki and Blues playmaker Stephen Perofeta patiently waits in the wings after re-signing through to 2024 and being used sparingly by the All Blacks this season.
There are high hopes for 21-year-old prospect Ruben Love, too, but he has predominantly featured at fullback for the Hurricanes and All Blacks XV.
Otherwise, though, New Zealand’s top end depth in the pivotal backline director role is in danger of rapidly thinning which brings Barrett’s future beyond the World Cup into sharp view.
