All Blacks captain Scott Barrett has a word with the side. Photo \/ SmartFrame<\/p>\n
Two years on and it feels more like Barrett genuinely didn\u2019t know how he felt and was riddled with self-doubt, both about his desire and his ability to do it.<\/p>\n
It reached the point last year where it felt like the nation needed to stage an intervention to take the captaincy off Barrett and let the poor man be free of a responsibility that looked as comfortable on him as lycra on middle-aged male cyclists.<\/p>\n
This once-colossus of a player seemed to shrink. The athleticism that defined Barrett\u2019s game deserted him, as if the whole business of being the team\u2019s figurehead was a literal weight he was lugging around the field<\/a>.<\/p>\n Midway through the season, the form of fellow locks Tupou Vaa\u2019i and Fabian Holland<\/a> was such that Barrett\u2019s selection was marginal, and the captaincy was reverse-engineered as the reason he was being picked.<\/p>\n Maybe a different coach would have made a tougher call \u2013 taken the captaincy off Barrett or dropped him to the bench \u2013 but Scott Robertson seemed stuck on the idea that time would shape his captain into being the iconic leader the All Blacks needed.<\/p>\n Some of Barrett\u2019s difficulties in the role were because he had been plagued by injury. He rarely had a consistent run of games and he was forever trying to play his way back into form after an injury break.<\/p>\n Robertson\u2019s plan to rejuvenate his captain was for Barrett to skip most of this year\u2019s Super Rugby Pacific campaign, fix his various injuries and return to the All Blacks in July physically rebuilt, mentally refreshed and with a few games for the Crusaders under his belt.<\/p>\n A reconditioned Barrett would likely have the confidence to play better and lead through his improved performances.<\/p>\n But Robertson was trying to make someone who never really gave the impression they wanted the job fall in love with it.<\/p>\n Barrett\u2019s heart has never appeared to be in the job, and it feels as if he only said yes because it would have been disrespectful \u2013 certainly impolite \u2013 to have said no, and there was no evidence that he was discernibly better at or more comfortable in the role by late 2025 than he was in mid-2024.<\/p>\n Rennie is not compelled to persevere with Barrett as captain<\/a> for the plan to be considered a success, as there\u2019s value in having a super-charged Barrett return to the international fold in prime condition.<\/p>\n The question for Rennie will be, why twist when he will have banked plenty if he sticks? If he gets Barrett back to his 2023 form, why potentially jeopardise that by giving him the captaincy?<\/p>\n That feels like a high-risk option with no evidence to suggest it would be anything other than low reward.<\/p>\n Two other things need to come into consideration, the first of which is that brand is all-important in the commercial and digital age<\/a> and the All Blacks captain has to give off James Bond vibes, with a quintessential Kiwi flavour.<\/p>\n Barrett has never looked at ease in the media glare, and Rennie will be smart enough to understand that the commercial side of the business will be easier for him to manage if there is a sense of alignment and buy-in from the All Blacks head coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the most significant reason Barrett\u2019s not the right choice for Rennie is that he\u2019s possibly going to be assigned an amended role where he operates as chief agitator around the breakdown, in much the same way Brodie Retallick did when the Chiefs were in their pomp.<\/p>\n Rennie likes his tight five to combine ruthless technical precision with a take-no-prisoners attitude<\/a> and lingering around the tackled-ball area to impose himself on the opposition would be right on-brand for Barrett.<\/p>\n Speaking with the media two weeks ago, Barrett said Rennie has already addressed the players<\/a> and laid out the big picture of what he wants his All Blacks to be.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just introduced himself and had a conversation on what he\u2019s going to bring to the team and some of the expectations around the type of athlete that he\u2019s looking for and the game that we want to play,\u201d Barrett said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the first introduction that he had with the group and myself \u2013 so, yeah, it\u2019s a bit of a transition period, but I think he\u2019ll hit the ground running.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can sort of see the way [Rennie\u2019s] previous teams have played. The Chiefs team, the style and the DNA that they want to bring out in their game, that\u2019s sort of unique to his style of coaching and obviously being influenced by [Sir] Wayne Smith. He\u2019s a sharp coach and I think he\u2019ll have a positive influence on the group as well.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s going to be hard for Barrett to build rapport and respect with referees if he\u2019s forever looking like a crime scene, splattered in opposition DNA.<\/p>\n And rapport and respect are often-underappreciated but vital commodities for international captains to have, and they are certainly qualities that Savea has built.<\/p>\n The case for Savea<\/p>\n Savea ticks every box an All Blacks captain should<\/p>\n Savea seems to live that same charmed existence that former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw<\/a> did, where he can emerge from the bottom of every ruck with referees presuming his innocence.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an important quality to have, as reputation can be hugely influential in the biggest games.<\/p>\n McCaw secured the All Blacks a World Cup in 2011<\/a> when he won favourable decisions in the final on the strength of his reputation, while Siya Kolisi seemed to avoid a red card in the 2023 final<\/a> purely because he was Siya Kolisi.<\/p>\n Savea sits among this exalted company, referees naturally warm to him and let him engage \u2013 and the respect officials hold for him filters through to the way they perceive the All Blacks.<\/p>\n On more tangible issues, Savea has shown over the past decade that his standards don\u2019t slip, making it almost certain that he\u2019ll merit a starting place between now and the World Cup.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also, since he was first asked to do it in 2021, been entirely comfortable with every aspect of the All Blacks captaincy.<\/p>\n The role has not overwhelmed nor diminished him and he brings the charisma that the sponsors who write the biggest cheques need to see, while he\u2019s the player most regularly chased by young fans hunting selfies when the All Blacks are in foreign cities.<\/p>\n Savea has already spent the past four months working with Rennie (and attack coach Mike Blair) at the Kobelco Kobe Steelers, he has a strong relationship with incoming defence coach Tana Umaga and an equally good connection with scrum and maul coach Jason Ryan.<\/p>\n Savea ticks about every box and above all else, he simply feels like the right choice to captain the All Blacks through to the World Cup.<\/p>\n But there are specific issues that weigh against Savea being captain \u2013 starting with his possible unavailability for the July tests.<\/p>\n The case against Savea<\/p>\n How could he lead the side if he\u2019s not here?<\/p>\n As the Herald has revealed<\/a>, Savea told New Zealand Rugby (NZR) in November last year that he wanted out of the last two years of his contract because he was missing being away from his family and he was physically and mentally tired.<\/p>\n That he felt the way he did was understandable, but he was also the architect of his own predicament as he had negotiated two playing sabbaticals in 2024 and 2026.<\/p>\n Not everyone will be sympathetic to his plight, but it wasn\u2019t contradictory for Savea to opt for two sabbatical seasons in Japan (where he likely banked around $4 million) where he would be living without his wife and children and then tell NZR late last year that he was missing his family too much to carry on.<\/p>\n The argument that a family man wouldn\u2019t choose to live away from his family arguably isn\u2019t looking at Savea\u2019s career choices with a broad enough lens.<\/p>\n There is a short earning window for professional athletes and $4m is the sort of money that can make a difference for generations \u2013 and surely, providing is the ultimate act of a family man?<\/p>\n What Savea is guilty of is a miscalculation. He thought he could bank the cash and keep playing around the clock but clearly underestimated the physical impact of rolling one season into the next. Two years out from a World Cup, his 32-year-old body has signalled its need for some kind of break if he\u2019s to make it to Australia next year.<\/p>\n But so too does NZR need to take an element of accountability, as it signed off on its star asset playing in Japan twice in three years.<\/p>\n Employer and employee are jointly culpable for not making a good plan to manage Savea through this World Cup cycle and work is now being done to remedy that and build a schedule that enables him to take some kind of extended break and spend more time at his Wellington family home.<\/p>\n The 2026 season<\/a> is split into three blocs: the July tests, the Greatest Rivalry Tour and Bledisloe Cup, and the November tests.<\/p>\n The highest-value bloc is the middle one and while not going to the UK in November would give Savea the longest break and most time at home, discussions are believed to be focusing on him missing the July series.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll be home from Japan in early June \u2013 eight weeks before the All Blacks head to South Africa<\/a> \u2013 a gap which he could use to rest before finding some club or provincial fixtures in late July.<\/p>\n The goal of taking a break in July is to enable Savea to be refreshed for the seven-week tour of South Africa<\/a>, but if he does sit out those tests, can he still be captain?<\/p>\n Can the Rennie era begin with Savea as the nominated captain but not actually playing?<\/p>\n It wouldn\u2019t be ideal, but the answer would be yes. Barrett could potentially skipper the team, or it could be a chance for someone else \u2013 perhaps Jordie Barrett, Tupou Vaa\u2019i or Codie Taylor \u2013 to lead the All Blacks.<\/p>\n The situation could be sold as an opportunity to grow the leadership pool \u2013 much as it was back in 2013 when Kieran Read captained the All Blacks<\/a> in June while McCaw was on sabbatical.<\/p>\nScott Robertson (left) and Scott Barrett face the public after the All Blacks’ record defeat to South Africa last year. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Scott Barrett leads his side off the field after defeating Wales on the 2025 end-of-year tour. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Ardie Savea (left) and his club coach in Japan, Dave Rennie, face the media at the Kobelco Kobe Steelers. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Quinn Tupaea, Ardie Savea and Fabian Holland in action against the Springboks. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n