Jordie, Scott and Beauden Barrett all line up for the national anthem ahead of the Rugby World Cup clash against Canada. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Jordie, Scott and Beauden Barrett all line up for the national anthem ahead of the Rugby World Cup clash against Canada. Photo / Mark Mitchell
By Liam Napier in Oita
The three Barrett brothers sat back after their historic evening for the All Blacks in Oita to toast another special family milestone but also chuckle at two rare blunders.
It wasn't enough that Beauden, Jordie and Scott made history as the first trio of brothersto start a World Cup match for the All Blacks as the team outclassed Canada 63-0. They then went and scored a try each to add another slice of significance.
In the challenging Japanese heat and humidity which produces excessive sweat and a slippery ball to make handling difficult, the All Blacks managed nine tries to underline their status as World Cup favourites.
Yet they were far from perfect. Several attacking chances went begging and it was here the two of the Barrett bros were guilty culprits.
First Scott did all the hard work in his early surge to the line, only to lose the ball in an attempt to reach out one-handed.
Beauden profited from a pin-point Sonny Bill Williams grubber to score just before half time and he set up Brad Weber's strike with a typical burst of speed but then finished with a rather comical moment.
After screaming onto an inside ball from Sam Whitelock and running 70 metres in one of the final plays of the match, Beauden seemed destined to bag a brace. Just as he spotted a closing Canadian defender out the corner of his eye, the ball slipped from his grasp like squeezing a soap bar.
"Everything happened in slow motion it was like I was on a treadmill," Beauden said. "I'm glad that was the 79th minute and not the first otherwise I would be asking myself some questions. It was pretty exhausting out there."
Jordie, Scott and Beauden Barrett all line up for the national anthem ahead of the Rugby World Cup clash against Canada. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Asked about Scott's similar incident, the eldest of the Barrett trio said he was quick to poke fun at his brother.
"I had a laugh pretty much straight away. It was pretty funny. Even my one you just have to laugh, it's one of those things. It's embarrassing but funny."
In the grand scheme the two blown tries mattered little as the Barretts celebrated their collective achievement with a couple of quiet brews while their parents watched on from the Taranaki farm where the boys honed their talent in the backyard.
"We have to, yeah. It's a pretty special moment. We'll get the balance right, have a couple of beers tonight and do our recovery tomorrow because we're training again on Friday.
"Dad is sitting at home drinking his Guinness in the lounge he's pretty happy."
Jordie, starting on the wing for the first time since July, claimed the second try of the match thanks to another perfectly-placed Richie Mo'unga cross-field kick.
"It's happened a couple of times before when we've played together but it's extra special being at a World Cup," he said. "Scott doesn't go looking for tries normally it's the outside backs so it was cool to have all three of us score tonight.
"He could have got two if he'd held onto the ball earlier."
Crusaders second-rower Scott made up for that error by scoring after a stunning offload from Mo'unga and inside ball from Kieran Read as the All Blacks ran in three tries in seven minutes just after half time.
"Even lining up during the national anthem I took a moment just to be grateful before running on to play with each other."
