'He's given us some good insights': Barrett’s Leinster spell arms All Blacks for Ireland Test
Jordie Barrett's time with Leinster may not have ended with European silverware but it was enlightening. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Scott Robertson had the Bulls on his mind and a Saturday showdown at the home of the Bears too. The New Zealand head coach could be cut a little slack, then, for not quite getting his ducks in a row as the first Test week of autumn dawned.
Weighing up the challenge that Andy Farrell and his players may pose in Chicago this weekend, Robertson was briefly caught in a muddle as he reached for a third member of the animal kingdom, referring to Ireland as "the Lions". After a summer when rugby’s red tourists were about as green as could be, that too should probably be forgiven.
His Lions line was hardly a slip. The victorious tour Down Under hangs heavily as a factor in Saturday’s Soldier Field renewal between the second and third-best teams in the world. Farrell is making his return to the Irish coaching box for the first time in 11 months after his secondment as supremo of the British and Irish selection. The disruption caused by the late return of a historic number of Irish among the touring party is still being felt too.
On Monday the IRFU confirmed that “all players have come through last week’s training in Chicago and are available for selection”. The return of captain Caelan Doris, who hasn’t played yet this season, would be an enormous boost.
While the All Blacks arrive here battle-hardened by a hectic summer of Test rugby, the same cannot be said of the opposition. As the Kiwis seek some Stateside revenge for that breakthrough Ireland triumph here nine years ago, Robertson hinted at another advantage his side may have: the intel picked up by Jordie Barrett during his excursion to Leinster.
But first — and surely not for the last time this week — 2016 and all that?
“It was a pretty historic day, wasn't it? You reflect back, and when it's always the first time in history, you don't want to be that team,” Robertson said Monday lunchtime at the All Blacks’ downtown hotel.
“But it's happened now, and you accept it. You ask a couple of players and coaches that were in and around what happened that week, and what did we learn from it, to make sure that we get it right this week.
“[Ireland and New Zealand] have had 10 games since, we have [won] five each, five a-piece. So, Test footy is pretty tight, and the Lions have got a hell of a team.”
The Lions had been tip of tongue because three questions earlier, Robertson was asked what part the disruption, with most of Farrell’s leading men having played just a single interpro since, may play?
“How many Irish players were in the Lions team? Sixteen? That's pretty hefty. They won a series away, which is very tough for the Lions, so they've got a group of men they have played test footy, so they'll be ready,” he insisted. "They've got good cohesion and they're well coached, so we expect the best out of them.”
Barrett may help to sharpen the focus of those expectations. The 28-year-old dynamo’s Northern Hemisphere expedition may not have ended with the European silverware expected but it was enlightening — for all sides.
“Jordie’s pretty special. You get players in your team that are rugby players and coaches before they're coaches,” said Robertson.
“He studies the game, studies the opposition, his memory on people's statistics and who played where they play. His time in Leinster served them well for that analysis side of it. He's given us some good insights and it's great for him to be a part of our team. He's looking forward to the game, as you'd expect. There's a few mates on the other side.”
An up-and-down campaign in the Rugby Championship finished on a positive trajectory but issues persist for the All Blacks. The news last week that a key assistant, former Munster player and coach Jason Holland, will depart after this month landed heavily back home. Turmoil is on the tip of the Kiwi media pack’s tongue.
Robertson, like Farrell, reported that all members of his 36-strong travelling panel are fit and available for Saturday afternoon. Some of the All Blacks party planned to take in a Chicago Bulls basketball game on Monday night. Another similarity with his Ireland counterpart is his coaching hunger, looking beyond rugby’s white lines for grains of wisdom.
“The [NBA] game's built on transition, isn't it? Turnovers and attacks, so you get to have a look at that, but no, we haven't had a chance to get into any environment. But I've been to the States before and they're hugely professional,” he said.
“I know a few of the coaches over here. I've done a bit of work with Sean McVay [of the NFL’s LA Rams] and Steve Kerr [Golden State Warriors legend], so you get some insights. There's a couple more zeroes at the back end of their budgets.”
Equally, he has plenty of observations on Ireland’s wider environment. It’s one Robertson admires.
“There's definitely respect. I think you look at your systems, your pathways, your provincial teams, everything is really lined up,” he added. “Your schooling system the institutional side of it, and you've got your guys consistently coming through that international level. That’s the ultimate you know, who's going to come through? All your programmes and your coaching, and young kids that want to replicate their heroes.
"You’ve got a lot of that in Ireland, and it's obviously pretty passionate, and you'll see a full stadium here. There's a lot of Irish around the world, isn't there? It's like a lot of Kiwis, very similar in that way. We love to travel, we sit on different places, but you know, rugby's dear to both countries’ heart.”
As he navigates what passes for turmoil in the obsessed nation, Robertson’s own heart is set on a special autumn. On Sunday, the All Blacks will also cross the Atlantic with visits to Murrayfield, Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium next on a packed November diary. There is but one aim.
“We're going for a Grand Slam,” he insisted. “Opportunities don't come around that often, and when they do, you've got to take them.”
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