All Blacks: Scott Barrett's injury opens door for Tuipulotu and Savea

NZ Herald

17 hours ago

What was troubling Robertson became apparent when Scott Barrett could be seen trying to hide an obvious limp as he made his way to the gate. The All Blacks head coach and his management team faced a nervous wait to see what scans on the captain's damaged Achilles would reveal.
They weren't hopeful of good news – and they had that confirmed on Monday when the pictures that came back from the medics showed a tear in the captain's calf muscle. Barrett now faces an unspecified period out of action.
He will miss the remainder of the French series, with assistant coach Scott Hansen confirming that: 'I think we'll take it week by week. He'll be keen to get back as quickly as possible, but we've got to do what is right for him with the injury process.'
While the All Blacks will be hoping their captain is fit to play Argentina on August 17, they won't be banking on it.
Scott Barrett injured his Achilles tendon in the first test. Photo / Photosport
But the level of angst induced by being without him will be at the lower end of the scale in terms of what it will deny the team.
Patrick Tuipulotu will come into the selection frame, and the Blues captain, whether he starts or comes off the bench, brings a similar-sized body, scrummaging heft, ball-carrying crunch and a calm head.
He's precisely the sort of highly experienced, seasoned veteran that the All Blacks need in their mix to ensure that they can lose a player of Barrett's calibre and not see it as a mini-disaster.
On the leadership front, Ardie Savea will take over as captain, and given he's done that on 10 previous occasions – most recently twice last year against Argentina – there's a high degree of confidence in his ability to do the role well.
It is often forgotten, or overlooked, that Savea effectively captained the All Blacks in the World Cup final after Sam Cane was sent off in the 28th minute, and led them in one of the most heroic attempts to win a major game with a numeric disadvantage.
It says something, then, about the All Blacks that they are set-up to cope with the loss of their captain.
They have the depth at lock and in Savea, they have a natural leader with the strength of character and mana to take over at short notice and command the respect of the troops.
But that scenario also says something about Barrett – that he hasn't yet been able to impose himself to the degree that some of his predecessors have and induce a national sense of foreboding when he is unavailable.
And it's this that was arguably vexing Robertson on Sunday morning: he was seeing injury to Barrett more as a lost opportunity for the captain than a loss necessarily for the team.
This is the year Robertson is hopeful his captain will start to feel a degree of comfort in the role and grow in stature both in how he relates and leads his team, and also in the way he's perceived by the media, public and opposition.
Barrett didn't have an easy time of it in 2024. He missed large chunks of the Crusaders' horror season due to injury and came into the test programme a little underdone and then was set back again, when he missed the two tests against Argentina because of surgery on a finger.
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett had found solid form in the later stages of the Super Rugby season. Photo / Photosport
Having started this season slowly, Barrett gradually came into better form by the Super Rugby playoffs and looked set to come into the French series perfectly placed to take an iron-grip of this All Blacks side, lead through his world class brilliance and use his growing confidence and familiarity with the role to galvanise his team around him.
The more time he has as captain and the more consecutive games he can string together, the more likely it is that Barrett will learn the art of leading the All Blacks in the big pressure games.
So much of his leadership is built on his ability to inspire through the way he plays and the only way to learn how to make the right decisions in the big moments, is to live through the big moments and operate through trial and error.
And so this was Razor's lament – another period on the sidelines looms for Barrett when he so desperately needs and wants to be in the thick of the action, building the trust and confidence of his peers, and refining his ability to speak to referees in a tone and at a time that wins him respect.
Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand's most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.