All Blacks v Wales: The making of Captain Beauden – how a season of doubt became a story of redemption – Gregor Paul

All Blacks v Wales: The making of Captain Beauden – how a season of doubt became a story of redemption – Gregor Paul

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Barrett was so lost and out of sorts that it took an enormous leap of faith to believe that at 35 he still had the pace, athleticism, instincts, skillset and ability to play for the All Blacks.

Even Sir Graham Henry had his doubts – admitting recently: “You wonder, he’s a 35-year-old superstar, done it all, World Rugby Player of the Year twice, and you wonder whether old father time is knocking on the door.

“I’ve never wondered about his professionalism or his effect on the team, but I just wondered whether his days were over, maybe.”

That doubt followed Barrett through July, when he was named in the All Blacks squad but didn’t play, and right through South Africa, where he was suddenly recategorised as a fullback after an unconvincing game at No 10 against the Stormers in the first clash of the tour.

It felt like he was running out of chances, out of time and that the inevitable couldn’t be put off for much longer. But a cameo off the bench in Baltimore was sharp and influential, and after first Ruben Love, then Richie Mo’unga were ruled out of the Bledisloe series, Barrett’s chance came.

And he took it. The player who had been so uncertain and reticent in May was suddenly Beauden Barrett again. Not peak Barrett, but not so far off either, and he started making sharp passes, clever kicks, incisive runs and smart decisions.

He was play-making, cleaning up the backfield, scoring tries and running with freedom – and the pace was still there, as he proved with a 70m intercept in Sydney.

His performance last week in Edinburgh was vintage Barrett – scoring two tries and playing so well as to spur head coach Dave Rennie to acknowledge with a wry smile at the post-match media conference: “There are some people who think Beauden is past it.”

It was a smile that said Rennie never had his doubts and that he was always confident that given the requisite time, Barrett would rediscover his best self.

This is the thing with great players, they find a way – especially if they are in an environment that values them.

Six days later Rennie was talking about Barrett again, because for the first time in his long and distinguished career, he’ll captain the All Blacks.

It’s taken 148 tests for this moment to come for Barrett, but Rennie was in no doubt it was the right call.

“Beauden is a really impressive character,” Rennie said when he unveiled the team to play Wales and explained why Barrett has been picked as captain.

“It was hard for him early on [this season]. He was struggling to get an opportunity. The quality of the man, very much team first. He went out of his way to help others who he is in competition with, and obviously his experience and time in the jersey.

“He is a strong contributor to the legacy and building on that. It’s a great story, but so deserving.”

And in an unintended twist, Beauden’s return to favour has shaped the story of his younger brother Scott, who returned to action in October after a six-month sabbatical and then surgery on a bulging disc.

Scott, who captained the team in 2024 and 2025 under former coach Scott Robertson, has been a revelation in 2026 – playing as well as he ever has and delivering the sort of raw brutality and athleticism that Rennie’s game plan is built on.

With Rennie’s preferred captain Ardie Savea not touring because of injury and his replacement, Codie Taylor, being rested in Cardiff, was Scott considered for the vacancy? He is, after all, the only man other than Taylor to have captained the team before.

“I just don’t think he needs the extra responsibility,” Rennie says. “He’s performed exceptionally well and we have talked a lot about him leading from the other side of the leadership group.

“We have a number of our leadership group not playing this week, so we have brought him to make sure we are aligned. He has a big say in our lineout attack and defence and he’s going to be closer to the action than Beauden, so we want him communicating with the referee where possible but we don’t feel he needs to have the c next to his name and all the responsibility that goes with that.”

And this, for the foreseeable future, appears to be Scott’s future – assigned a leadership role but not the captaincy. It’s a scenario that appears to be working.

“My thinking was when he came back in was just to let him settle and focus on himself,” Rennie says.

“He’s going to naturally lead because that is a strength of his but he has been very much ‘follow me’.

“He’s been demanding and challenging at training, which has been great, just his work ethic and brutality has been fantastic for us, and we are trying to not burden with any more responsibilities.”

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.

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