By its own admission, New Zealand Rugby’s sabbatical policy doesn’t solve every problem the game in Aotearoa faces.
But if Jordie Barrett’s time with Irish giants Leinster is anything to go by, the national body is continuing to find ways of keeping the All Blacks’ best and brightest on Kiwi shores.
Since 2008, when Dan Carter was allowed to link up with French club Perpignan, All Blacks who meet certain criteria have been afforded overseas opportunities, through their New Zealand Rugby (NZR) contracts.
Now, 17 years on, sabbaticals have given NZR breathing room in its ability to retain players amid the game’s wider economic issues.
Financially, the national union is fighting a losing battle against privately backed overseas clubs – notably in Japan’s Rugby League One.
But allowing players temporary stints abroad while remaining committed to the All Blacks in essence allows NZR to have its cake and eat it too.
What’s more, it also extends the time players can spend playing in New Zealand. Beauden Barrett has taken two sabbaticals in Japan, which have given him the financial security to commit to NZR through to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, by which time he’ll be 36.
By NZR’s own reasoning, it is preferable to have an All Black for three years out of a four-year contract rather than not have them at all.
The flipside of that, though, is that sabbaticals leave players unavailable for Super Rugby Pacific, at a time when NZR has built the competition around seeing All Blacks play week in, week out.
But for NZR’s general manager of professional rugby Chris Lendrum, the system in place is working as intended.
“The first thing to acknowledge is that sabbaticals aren’t perfect for everybody involved,” Lendrum told the Herald.
“Overall, it’s been a really successful vehicle for New Zealand Rugby. We have seen some small evolutions over time, in terms of our approach.
“In the end, sabbaticals are a creative way to recognise the position New Zealand Rugby is in, in the contracting and player market. We don’t sit top of the market financially.
“But we have an incredibly attractive and compelling proposition for our players to commit to. It’s about enabling those players to have the best of both worlds in some way.
“For a short period of time, via a sabbatical, it enables their longer-term retention. We’re really careful with evolving these policies.
“This is about recognising loyalty, long service and our retention needs across the game.”
This year, though, that template was slightly changed by Jordie Barrett’s time with Leinster.
In late 2024, the All Blacks’ first-choice No 12 packed his bags and headed to Ireland, where he played out the European season, taking in the United Rugby Championship and the Champions Cup.
Instead of playing in Japan, an easier competition, Barrett was fighting for a first-team spot with midfielders Robbie Henshaw, Garry Ringrose and fullback Hugo Keenan – all regulars for Ireland and selected for the British and Irish Lions.
As a result, Barrett’s return to the All Blacks against France last month yielded notable results.
While in the past, players returning from Japan have taken time to reacclimatise to the test set-up after missing Super Rugby Pacific, Barrett was up to speed straight away – and even stood out in a cameo off the bench in Hamilton.
Already one of the All Blacks’ best before his time with Leinster, Barrett has clearly taken his experience and grown from it. That will be repaid for not just the All Blacks, but the Hurricanes too by the time the 2026 season rolls around.
Lendrum puts that down to the intensity of the Irish club game, with regular matches against teams from Scotland, Wales, South Africa and Italy giving exposure to different styles of rugby that the Southern Hemisphere largely lacks.
So successful was Barrett’s stint, Rieko Ioane will follow suit at the end of this season, despite his ongoing feud with Irish supporters.
And while NZR has never been opposed to players choosing Europe over Japan, Lendrum concedes that there is an increasing “openness” to it as an option, given the template Barrett has presented.
“In Jordie’s case, it’s been a really successful experience,” Lendrum continued.
“He enjoyed the rugby, he enjoyed the life experience and the culture at Leinster. He’s feeling refreshed from that different environment.
“But beyond Jordie, it’s been a success. It’s been successful from an All Blacks perspective. He came back and contributed really well in the French series, it was successful from Leinster’s perspective.
“And whilst he missed this year’s Super Rugby season, these arrangements are designed to enable a player to play more Super Rugby in the future, and lengthen their career.
“In Jordie’s case, this has been a win all round, for all parties.”
Still, sabbaticals are a balancing act. The needs of a Jordie Barrett, at 28, are vastly different to his brothers Beauden and Scott Barrett – both with young families.
Beauden Barrett has taken sabbaticals with Japanese clubs before; in 2021 with Suntory Sungoliath and with Toyota Verblitz in 2024. Scott Barrett, meanwhile, is expected to see out a non-playing sabbatical in 2026, whereby he’ll skip Super Rugby entirely, and follow the example set by Richie McCaw in 2012.
Ardie Savea, meanwhile, will return to Japan’s Kobe Steelers next year for the second time in the last three years, which will allow him to earn money he’d otherwise command as arguably the best player on the planet.
In all cases, though, NZR has shown a willingness to be flexible and accommodate the needs of players on a case-by-case basis.
“Every player is different, they’ve got individual considerations – where are they at in their career, vis-a-vis the All Blacks and their aspirations? Where are they at with their family? Where does it suit them to go?" Lendrum said.
“There’s obviously financial considerations as well. The money that a player earns [on sabbatical] is helpful to offset the difference in their future earnings between New Zealand and what they’d make if they played offshore.
“It’s really individual and a range of factors go into what’s ultimately a player’s decision.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.