At times Jordie Barrett is untouchable. At others rash decisions and mental lapses prove costly. Photo / Photosport
At times Jordie Barrett is untouchable. At others rash decisions and mental lapses prove costly. Photo / Photosport
COMMENT:
There is a glass half full or half empty way to perceive Jordie Barrett's development.
Brilliant one minute, concerning the next, Barrett's propensity to run hot and cold in the same match continues to shine a light on the fact he is not the finished article.
That is notoverly surprising, given he does not turn 23 until next year and could easily feature in the next three World Cups.
For now, though, Japan is the focus. At present on any given day, you never quite know what you are going to get from the youngest Barrett sibling in the professional ranks.
At times he is untouchable. At others rash decisions and mental lapses prove costly.
For the All Blacks, the latter elements significantly increase risk.
With Damian McKenzie out injured, Barrett is likely to start on the right wing or at fullback during the World Cup, depending on where the All Blacks decide to play Ben Smith, with Rieko Ioane a lock on the left edge.
The All Blacks, particularly at World Cups, know they will be tested in the air and, therefore, like the balance of two fullbacks in their back three. It is, then, difficult to see them shifting from that preferred, blended combination.
Barrett has not been helped by numerous positional switches – from wing to second-five – at the Hurricanes this season.
Fullback looks his best position, largely due to the extra space and freedom it offers.
For the most part Barrett's performances this season have been compelling. Yet it only takes one bad egg to spoil a salad – and he copped plenty for his deliberate knock dead and resulting yellow card in the loss to the Jaguares last week.
Sonny Bill Williams endured a similar brain fade in Paris on the 2017 northern tour. On that occasion Williams' yellow card, which allowed France to storm back into the test, was attributed to intrinsic thoughts of his former rugby league career.
With Barrett his mistakes hint more at rawness. Like his brothers there is little doubt he is a special talent. His ranking punt, long-range goal kicking, length of stride, distribution and speed are all major assets.
Hurricanes' Jordie Barrett scores a try against the Blues. Photo / Photosport
No individual or team is ever perfect but these frequent inaccuracies continue to frustrate.
In that same defeat to the Jaguares, Barrett made a superb bust from the back. In Beauden's absence he also twice missed touch from penalties, and then landed one kick five metres out from the Jaguares' line just before half time.
Two weeks ago against the Blues at Eden Park, Barrett's love of contact, honed at second-five, came to the fore with three try-saving tackles. He does not lack courage or anticipation.
Again, though, errors were evident. Barrett has the ability to be as good as Israel Folau in the air. He, too, would not be out of place in the AFL with his talent of catching the ball in two hands well above his head. This is particularly evident when snaffling cross-field kicks.
But against the Blues, Barrett bottled his first two high-ball tests and once lost the ball in the tackle.
Sure he shook off these mistakes – a sign of character – to otherwise perform strongly but errors like this are significantly magnified in a World Cup context, especially in the knockout arena.
Astute northern hemisphere teams will study this footage, and inevitably bring their favoured box-kicking approach to the World Cup.
On the plus side, even at this early stage in his career, Barrett has proven his ability to handle big occasions.
Thrown in the deep end for his first test start at fullback in the third British and Irish Lions assignment, Barrett handled the pressure of the series decider with aplomb.
In his last test start, on the right wing after falling behind McKenzie in the pecking order, Barrett scored four tries in the romp over Italy in Rome.
There is, of course, a huge jump from that level of opposition to the All Blacks' World Cup opener against the Springboks.
Between now and then, a little more accuracy in execution would go a long way to convincing Barrett's glass is as full as most suspect.
