Irish World Cup dream threatened by Beauden Barrett's Gaelic football background

PARIS – New Zealand’s Beauden Barrett seeks revenge against the Irish in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final, but the All Blacks star owes a debt of gratitude to Ireland because he learnt the basic skills – thanks to Gaelic football.

The 32-year-old fullback has lost more than he probably would care to recall against the Irish, though he was part of the team who destroyed Johnny Sexton and his teammates in the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals.

It is, however, the historic home series loss to Ireland in 2022 that has raised Kiwi hackles – Ireland coming from 1-0 down to win 2-1.

That was the start of their 17 Test match-winning run and Barrett was licking his lips in anticipation of ending it in their last-eight clash at the Stade de France.

“We learnt a lot during that series, it was a challenging time, some of the most challenging times we’ve faced as an All Black team, and personally, losing the series in our backyard,” said Barrett, before the Irish thrashed Scotland 36-14 to book their date with New Zealand.

“So, if it’s Ireland in the quarter-finals, it’s going to be great...

“There are a lot of us who are pretty keen to get one up on them and still we’re hurting from what happened last year.”

Barrett may have learnt a lot from that series, but it will not be the first time the Irish have taught him lessons.

What he learnt was much earlier, though, and it helped him hone his skills when he went with his family to live in Ireland at the age of eight.

His father, Kevin Barrett, had secured a job as a farm manager in Ballinacree, County Meath, an hour’s drive north-west of Dublin.

The sole sport at their school was Gaelic football which involves kicking a round ball.

So Barrett junior’s ability to kick the ball cross-field for teammates to catch and touch down was learnt from those early days.

“I have no doubt, you can claim fame to that!” he told The42.ie in 2016.

While the five Barrett boys enjoyed their time in Ireland, their initial reception at school was one of amazement at their attire, as their father recounted.

“Kane, Beaudy and Scotty were straight into school,” he said. “The first day, they turned up to school in their bare feet and they got some looks.

“Everyone thought, ‘these poor New Zealand boys without shoes on’, but that’s what we do.

“They were sloshing around in the snow, it was quite funny,” added Barrett senior, who was also renowned for arriving at rugby training straight from the farm with his Wellington boots on.

Barrett junior recalls those days fondly in his biography Beaudy: Skills, Drills & The Path To The Top.

He also remembers his amazement that the nearby town of Oldtown had a population of just 1,000 people but had 13 pubs.

Although he and his brothers went off to play rugby at another town, he has positive memories of Gaelic football.

“I really enjoyed Gaelic football, a fast and skilful game for which you need good endurance and where dad’s lessons about kicking off both feet proved vital,” said Barrett junior.

“It was great for my hand-eye coordination and vision, being able to see space on the field.”

On Saturday, a cross-field kick first learnt on a Gaelic football pitch may prove the difference.

AFP