Scott Barrett (centre) will skip the five-match northern tour for family reasons. Photo / Photosport
Scott Barrett (centre) will skip the five-match northern tour for family reasons. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks locks Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu will return to New Zealand and skip the five-match northern tour after striking it lucky in the MIQ lottery, with 20-year-old Taranaki and Chiefs second-rower Josh Lord called up as a squad bolter.
Barrett, who featured in every Rugby Championship match, startingfour of six games, has his first baby due in November and wants to be present for the birth.
Blues captain Tuipulotu is set to take up a one season sabbatical with Japanese club Toyota Verblitz in 2022 but needs to link with the team at the end of this year, and he has a young daughter to consider.
Patrick Tuipulotu. Photo / Photosport
Both players have secured MIQ spots at a time when other New Zealand athletes such as triathlete Hayden Wilde and doubles tennis specialist Michael Venus, both of whom claimed bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics, have vented their frustrations at being unable to return home.
Other athletes affected by MIQ access include Paige Hareb, who pulled out of the World Surf League challenger series last month because she could not secure a spot.
Several members of Auckland's City Kickboxing gym, including UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker, have signalled their desire to move to America for the good of their careers, due to lockdowns and the MIQ situation in New Zealand.
Thousands of New Zealanders abroad have also missed out on attempts to secure MIQ spots in the much-maligned online lottery booking system.
Lock Josh Lord in action for the Chiefs. Photo / Photosport
The full All Blacks squad has 65 MIQ spots for their return home after the final match of the year against France in Paris on November 20.
Asked how Barrett and Tuipulotu secured MIQ spots while others miss out, All Blacks coach Ian Foster said it was through the lottery system.
"Yes they were," Foster said. "We were looking for more spots in case we had injuries but we weren't able to find more. If we did get any we prioritised those were the most important ones.
"They were always intending to [go home] but we didn't know. They've been working hard on finding spots and we only had some certainty about that last week.
"We're sad to see them go and that whole thing has been up in the air for a long time. They go with our blessing even though we'll miss them greatly."
With Barrett and Tuipulotu returning home, Foster made the surprise call to include Lord, the raw 2.02m, 106 kg lock who has played five Super Rugby games for the Chiefs, ahead of Crusaders contender Quinten Strange and Highlanders second-rower Pari Pari Parkinson.
Lord was caught off-guard by the call from All Blacks manager Darren Shand on Monday morning.
"I was pretty shocked and excited at the same time," Lord said. "I pride myself on working hard and as a tall target at the set piece. Everything has come around pretty early but I'm super grateful for the opportunities I've been given this year."
Foster indicated Lord's selection comes with an eye to the future but he is certain to debut on tour.
"He's a young player with a lot of promise," Foster said. "We were impressed with him whenever we've gone and seen him training at Super level. He's very athletic and we saw this as an opportunity to grow a young player for the future. He's got the physical attributes so it's a chance to get him on the tour and start working with him.
"We've done this before with some younger players. We think there's a lot to gain from introducing them at a younger age. If he settles in well then he's got a great chance of getting some time."
Barrett and Tuipulotu's absences will thrust 21-year-old Chiefs lock Tupou Vaa'i, who has played seven tests, into third-choice lock behind veterans Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock.
"We loved what he did with us last year and he's a year further down than Josh Lord. He dealt with a starting role in a Bledisloe Cup under a lot of pressure. Whenever we put him on the park we felt he performed really well and he's continued to do that.
"We see this tour as a chance for him to get some significant game time and have a big role."
All Blacks centurion Whitelock, injured captain Sam Cane, hooker Dane Coles and loose forward Shannon Frizell will also join the team in Washington DC, where they begin their five-match northern tour.
Last month Frizell had criminal charges, which included two charges of male assaults female and another of common assault at a nightclub incident in May, against him dropped. He was denied a visa to enter Australia while the case was before the courts.
