Scott Robertson insists that Jordie Barrett has already provided valuable insight for the All Blacks ahead of this weekend’s clash with Ireland.
The 28-year-old spent six months at Leinster during the 2024/25 season as part of his New Zealand Rugby sabbatical, playing a key role in their United Rugby Championship title success.
Barrett returned home in June ahead of the mid-year Tests and will now face Ireland for the first time since that move in December 2024.
Given that Leinster form the spine of the national team, the centre will have gleaned plenty of information from his stint in Dublin.
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Additionally, Robertson claims that Barrett is a deep thinker about the game and is best placed to process that knowledge and help the All Blacks’ chances.
“Jordie’s pretty special. You get players in your team that are coaches before they are coaches. He studies the game, studies the opposition, his memory on people’s statistics and who play and where they play,” he told reporters.
“His time in Leinster served him in that analysis side of it, so he’s given us some good insights.
“It’s great for him to be a part of our team and he’s looking forward to the game as you’d expect – there are a few mates on the other side.”
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After a frustrating Rugby Championship, which saw them miss out on the title to the Springboks, the All Blacks will be looking to end the year on a high.
‘Revenge’ will also likely be a watchword for New Zealand after their defeat to Ireland the last time these teams met at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Although Robertson was obviously not part of the set-up at that time, a few members of his current squad were and the head coach has been tapping into their memories of that trip.
‘Historic day’ in Chicago
“It was a pretty historic day wasn’t it? You reflect back. You don’t want to be that team but it’s happened now and you accept it,” the All Blacks boss said.
“What was their learnings from that week? You ask a couple of players and coaches that were in and around about what happened that week, and we learn from it to make sure that we get it right this week.
“We’ve had 10 games since, it’s five apiece. Test footy’s pretty tight and Ireland have got a hell of a team.
“You’ve got a lot of experienced players that know how to play Test football. They’re really, really well coached team with a lot of high cohesion.
“They will take you deep into the phase count, they play, they kick well, they’ve just got a good all-round game. They’ve got some world-class players in there that you’ve got to respect.”
The Ireland clash marks the first game of the All Blacks’ Grand Slam tour with them facing all the Home Nations in November.
Scotland at Murrayfield follows their encounter with the Irish before they take on England and Wales next month.
“We’re going for a Grand Slam, opportunities like this don’t come around that often and when they do you’ve got to take them,” Robertson said.