It\u2019s not yet a fait accomplis, however, that the Hurricanes and Love will merrily dance their way to another title, but there is an increasing chance that the next three weeks \u2013 the next three months perhaps \u2013 will deliver a narrative that one great career is perhaps starting to wind down to make way for another to begin.<\/p>\n
Blues first five-eighths Beauden Barrett has been part of a faltering campaign this year. Photo \/ Alyse Wright <\/p>\n
The additional connection in this 2016-2026 parallel world is that the No 10 who currently sits not entirely convincingly on the All Blacks\u2019 throne is Barrett.<\/p>\n
He found himself there midway through 2024 when Damian McKenzie couldn\u2019t convince former All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson<\/a> that he had either a deep enough strategic appreciation of how test rugby functions or a good enough kicking game to execute a triple-threat attack.<\/p>\n Barrett usurped McKenzie not because he turned back the clock and produced his swashbuckling running game of old, but because he was a steady hand playing percentage rugby<\/a> that just about held an uncertain game plan together.<\/p>\n The past two years were not vintage Barrett by any means. He was smart at times, mostly accurate and cohesive, but there is a sense that now that Robertson and his coaching cohorts have been cleaned out, the All Blacks need something more than a steady hand from their preferred No 10.<\/p>\n If the All Blacks are to reinvent themselves as an innovative attacking force as they want to, then they need a No 10 who brings a core offering of accuracy, calm, astute game management, smart tactical kicking, but also a bit of magic.<\/p>\n The All Blacks have had their best mini-periods of invincibility when they have had a young, fearless No 10 rewriting what is possible: in 2005 it was Carter<\/a>, in 2016 it was Barrett and now the national team are in desperate need of more of that same instinctive brilliance that defences can\u2019t read or shut down.<\/p>\n Barrett has been a brilliant operator for a long time, but it\u2019s becoming increasingly hard to see that he has the capacity to dig out 18 months of the magical, freewheeling rugby he produced so effortlessly in his mid-20s.<\/p>\n The doubt isn\u2019t triggered by his age \u2013 he\u2019s 34 – but by the lack of discernible evidence he\u2019s produced quality in the past two years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maybe, in his defence, it could be argued that he, like his teammates, was hampered by the confusion that reigned under Robertson and under Dave Rennie, he\u2019ll be able to demonstrate that he\u2019s still got that deadly acceleration and ability to play like he\u2019s a clairvoyant seeing the future before everyone else.<\/p>\n But against that has been his form with the Blues this year, which has been hard to watch. They have descended into chaos<\/a> and it\u2019s not clear if Barrett is the cause or a symptom.<\/p>\n Great players, though, earn that title precisely because they have the resilience to bounce back and prove the doubters wrong and Barrett may yet have one last memorable chapter to write by regenerating the All Blacks under their new coaching team.<\/p>\n A Barrett rejuvenation story would be quite something, but there is an equally if not more compelling tale in the offing, which is the emergence of Love.<\/p>\n All the arguments can be made about test rugby being a different beast and an arena where experience trumps adventure, but the 25-year-old now looks to be fulfilling a destiny that was marked out for him by the rugby gods some time ago.<\/p>\n Love is playing with the all-important ingredient of self-confidence, which is underpinning his decision-making and enabling him to operate without the crippling inhibition with which some young first fives can be afflicted.<\/p>\nBeauden Barrett (left) and Ruben Love reflect on last year’s defeat to Argentina in Buenos Aires. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n