Bristol Bears are in advanced talks with All Blacks greats Beauden and Scott Barrett over a move after the 2027 Rugby World Cup, with Newcastle Red Bulls still chasing the pair.
The top line
Two of the finest players New Zealand has produced this century are at the centre of a PREM tug of war, with Bristol Bears and Newcastle Red Bulls both chasing Beauden and Scott Barrett for the period after next year’s World Cup in Australia.
Planet Rugby understands, from a number of well-placed sources, that Bristol are in advanced talks with the brothers, although Newcastle, with Red Bull’s money behind them, remain very much in the hunt. Neither club has commented, nothing has been signed, and both players are fully committed to the All Blacks until the tournament finishes on 13 November 2027.
The contract window
The timing is set by the brothers’ contracts. Beauden signed a four-year deal with New Zealand Rugby and the Blues in December 2023 that runs to the end of 2027, whilst Scott extended his deal with the Crusaders by two years in June 2024, taking him to the same date; both said at the time that another crack at the World Cup was the reason to stay, and nothing either has said since suggests a change of heart.
Last month’s reports that agents were testing the English market for seven All Blacks with contracts expiring after the tournament named both Barretts, much to the delight of transfer desks across the Prem, and Bristol and Newcastle are understood to have moved quickly.
Beauden turns 36 in May, has 145 Test caps and has said the World Cup is his target, whilst taking the rest of his career season by season. He’s had two sabbaticals in Japan with Toyota Verblitz and has credited those breaks with extending his career, so another spell overseas would hardly be out of character. Scott, 32 and with 89 caps, had surgery on his back in May and returns for his first Test of the season this weekend, without the captaincy, which Codie Taylor holds for the Bledisloe Cup.
Lam’s pitch
Pat Lam is keen to bring both brothers to Ashton Gate, and that fits squarely with what he said last month when talk of post-World Cup moves first surfaced. “PREM Rugby is in a good place now with the investment so I see a future where, like before, we can bring world-class players into the competition,” Lam said. “We already have some of the best players in the world in our competition and now there’s talk about having a second marquee player and the salary cap coming up.”
That last comment speaks volumes, because a second marquee slot sitting outside the salary cap is exactly what a club would need to fit two signings of this size into one squad without stripping out the rest of it, and Lam was making the case in public before anyone had linked his club with the Barretts.
He also knows New Zealand rugby from the inside, having coached the Blues before moving north, and Bristol have a track record with All Blacks; Charles Piutau and Steven Luatua both became central figures at Ashton Gate under him, which counts for a great deal when a player is weighing up where to spend the last years of his career with his family.
The rugby fits too, with Bristol playing at a tempo and width that would suit Beauden at full-back, where he could act as a second playmaker outside Tom Jordan, whilst the Bears’ pack would welcome a lock who reads the lineout and the breakdown as well as Scott does. Lam’s side are unbeaten in the league this season after beating Northampton 41-26 at Ashton Gate last weekend, and travel to Saracens on Saturday looking for their first win over them since August 2020.
Newcastle’s money
Newcastle’s pitch is built on money and ambition. Red Bull completed their takeover in 2025 and the club signed 23 first-team players ahead of this season, with Tom Christie the marquee name and Hoskins Sotutu and Max Hicks giving the squad a strong New Zealand flavour, so the Barretts would find familiar company in the dressing room. However, Newcastle are still building; they finished bottom of the Premiership three seasons running before the takeover and opened this campaign with a 59-26 defeat at Northampton.
For two players with well over 200 Test caps between them, the question is whether they want to lead a project or join a side already competing for trophies, but Red Bull’s resources mean Newcastle won’t be outbid lightly.
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A family package
Both clubs see the brothers as a package, and that’s part of the appeal for the players too, with Beauden having spoken often about how much playing alongside Scott and Jordie means to him.
The three of them start together for the All Blacks against Australia at Eden Park on Saturday, for the first time since last year’s match against Ireland at Soldier Field, with Beauden at full-back after Richie Mo’unga was ruled out and Damian McKenzie moved to fly-half.
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