Former All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett is back to full fitness and will return to action this weekend in a National Provincial Championship (NPC) game for Taranaki.<\/p>\n
Barrett has been sidelined for the entire season with a back injury and will start at lock in Taranaki\u2019s clash against Hawke\u2019s Bay at McLean Park in Napier on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The match is a momentous one for Barrett as it will be just his second appearance for Taranaki, five years after he made his NPC debut and he will pack down in the second-row alongside fellow All Black Josh Lord.<\/p>\n
Was last in action in 2025<\/p>\n
Barrett<\/a> was last in action for the All Blacks<\/a> against Wales at the end of 2025 and after initially taking a sabbatical, he was set to play for the Crusaders during the latter stages of their 2026 Super Rugby Pacific campaign but that did not happen due to a bulging disc in his back that was putting pressure on a nerve.<\/p>\n He then had surgery to repair the damage to the injury, but that meant he was ruled out of the All Blacks\u2019 Greatest Rivalry<\/a> series against the Springboks.<\/p>\n In an interview with 1News, Barrett revealed that his injury \u201cdepowered my left side so I couldn\u2019t really run and do the things required for my job as a rugby player so yeah, it\u2019s nice to be in a position to pull on the jersey and represent Taranaki again.\u201d<\/p>\n The 32-year-old was the All Blacks\u2019 captain under former head coach Scott Robertson but when Dave Rennie took over the coaching reins, he appointed Ardie Savea as the men in black\u2019s new skipper ahead of their Nations Championship Tests against France, Italy and Ireland in July.<\/p>\n Barrett admitted that New Zealand Rugby\u2019s decision to part ways with Robertson put some strain on him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a challenging sort of 10 months, probably a challenging year to be honest, for me personally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n New Zealand Rugby weigh-up shock Super Rugby Pacific exit at crunch meeting as \u2018bombshell\u2019 report reveals three drastic measures<\/a><\/p>\n Had \u2018a close relationship\u2019 with Scott Robertson<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a close relationship with a head coach and when the team isn\u2019t quite going that well and there\u2019s a change like that, you probably reflect a little bit personally as your role is skipper at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Barrett also revealed that Rennie had contacted him to inform him that Savea would take over the All Blacks\u2019 captaincy.<\/p>\n