Star All Blacks playmaker Beauden Barrett has signed a lucrative one-season Japanese club deal for next year before seeing out his New Zealand contract up to the 2023 World Cup.
Barrett announced details of his “sabbatical” with Top League side Suntory Sungoliath which will see him miss the Super Rugby season for the Blues but be availble for the 2021 international season.
A clause in the 29-year-old’s four-year New Zealand Rugby contract was a lengthy break at the start of this year and a season in Japan.
“For me it made sense to go next year and then have two years back with the Blues and hopefully the All Blacks in the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup,” said Barrett on Thursday.
“My wife and I are excited to head to Japan next year. It is an appealing place for a young family and comparatively safe in health terms.
Leading New Zealand Rugby official Chris Lendrum said Barrett’s contact clause was similar to that of All Blacks locks Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock who played in Japan this year.
Whitelock returned from the aborted Japan season earlier this year while Retallick is playing two seasons there before resuming his New Zealand contract.
“That flexibility in our contracting is key: it allows our top players to refresh in a different rugby environment but remain committed to New Zealand Rugby which, in the long term, is great for both parties,” Lendrum said.
The 84-Test veteran has been an influential figure for the unbeaten Blues through the first three rounds of Super Rugby Aotearoa, having played the previous nine seasons for the Hurricanes.
He said he had enjoyed the change of team and the tough nature of the Kiwi-only competition.
“I’m loving every minute of it and having such big crowds turning out has been fantastic,” he said.
“It is an excellent environment with great coaching and an awesome bunch of dedicated players. While the excitement about heading to Japan will build closer to the time, I’ll also be looking forward to being back later in 2021.”
Suntory’s coach is New Zealander Milton Haig while England coach Eddie Jones acts as a consultant for the club.
Guess
Roar Rookie
Not a good sign for
NZrugby. Well it is what it isDAVEC
Roar Rookie
great for japanese rugby all blacks and Barrett
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Will it actually? There’s talks of 24 teams over 3 divisions, but the bottom division being semi pro. There’s currently more than 16 pro teams in Japan picking up aussies on big contracts.
nroko
Roar Rookie
Japan's new pro league will raid more players. Will be interesting to see how Super Rugby shapes up next year and beyond. Japan doesn't seem to be too interested in Super Rugby - they want their new comp to be the best in the world. Only way they do that is get more players from overseas. Their new competition also aims to help Brave Blossoms in terms of calendar i.e. play between Jan-May and then internationals as opposed to previous years when the international season and Top League ran concurrently. Even European players are heading to Japan. I am sure the Japanese franchises will get more aggressive with contracts i.e. long term deals instead of 1 year deals. NZR and RA will find it even more difficult to retain its best players.
nroko
Roar Rookie
He won't be at the Blues next year, he also has contract with one of the Japan Top League teams.
allblackfan
Guest
Yep ... Apparently they got a new kid from the south by the name of Dan Carter! Have high hopes for him !! ????????
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Wow, I wonder how long DC wants to hang around for? He might have to suit up next year if Black and Barrett head off.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Yep. It's important to protect your domestic competition. But lose a few players each season, only for that season is much better than losing them entirely.
Ben
Guest
On the radio news today they said Otere Black is looking at a Japanese contract next year also. So the Blues will be back to square one again without a class 1st 5. ...and the Hurricanes have just picked up ex Blues 1st 5 Simon Hickey.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Agreed. McMahon looked like he could go on to be absolutely world class in 2018. So much of our relative success that year was down to the go forward he generated in attack and his aggressive tackling in defence. He had an engine like few others also. So sad to lose him.
MitchO
Guest
And one day we may get McMahon back. He'd be handy to throw into the mix with Hooper and the kids. I think he's a better player than Pete Samu and Pete Samu is going to be handy over the next two to three seasons.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Yea, it’s a win/win/win scenario.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Yeah. I hope RA is taking note. Pocock had one of his best seasons in 2018 after playing with Deans in Japan the year before. Said he went over there to improve his passing game. Came back to Aus a lot trimmer, more agile and distributing far better. It is a shame the Wallabies were so horrendous that year and that he wasn’t the same player by 2019, but imagine how bad 2018 could have been without him.
Jacko
Guest
Yep Win win for NZ rugby...Only down side is we wont see BB in next years SR comp but that allows another player to develop at the Blues and keeps BB available for the ABs till 2023..
PeterK
Roar Guru
Paulo - The difference here is that Barrett is available and eligible for the AB's the whole time, all he misses is super rugby.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
With a kiwi coach to boot.
Carlin
Roar Rookie
Yep and Japan is the place to go. The players are managed a lot better and would imagine the overall physicality of the Japanese League is not the same as the English or French competition. Barrett will flourish in Japan. Japanese rugby is played at a high tempo which suits him.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
“That flexibility in our contracting is key: it allows our top players to refresh in a different rugby environment but remain committed to New Zealand Rugby which, in the long term, is great for both parties,” Lendrum said.“ Why don’t they call a spade a spade. It allows them to earn some decent coin without the need to go to Europe, and they can come back in a year or two and play for the ABs again. Keeps the AB brand strong by keeping the talent closer to home, let’s players earn some legit decent money before they are washed up.
JD Kiwi
Roar Rookie
It's how things are nowadays. I hope he has a good season and comes back fit and well.