Beauden and Scott Barrett will play Saturday in the semi-final against England. Their youngest, Jordie, will also be there, as a substitute.
Five brothers had already entered the story. We want to talk about Jack, Max, Archie, George and Frank Skofic. Five players from England and all became international team … Slovenia, the country of their late father, a country that also has a rugby team. It was in 2014.
Today, the brothers Beauden, Scott and Jordie Barrett do both better and worse. Of course, New Zealanders are only three. But all play for the best team on the planet, already triple world champion, the All Blacks. And all are now aiming for a place in the final.
That's how Beauden and Scott start the semi-final against England on Saturday (October 26th) in Yokohama (10 am French time). The first as a rear, although he is also comfortable opening. The second, third-line, he who usually plays second-line. As for their junior, Jordie, he will already have to settle for the status of substitute back.
Three brothers, three characters
Three brothers, three characters, according to hooker Dane Coles: "Jordie is a psychopath because Scooter (Scott) and Baz (Beauden) He made it all the more colorful when he was a kid. "
The first is 22, the other two are 25 and 28 respectively. Family portrait follows: "We play a little darts in the common room, and Jordie loses his nerves when he misses a throw. It's a real crazy. Scooter is the nicest and quietest of the three, Baz is in between. It happens to him to lose his calm but it emanates from him a form of serenity. "
Of the three, the most feared of his opponents is surely the oldest, Beauden Barrett, master of the game of his team, ball in hand or foot, voted best player in the world in 2016 and 2017. "We all play different roles, so it's hard to compare," nuance the interested party. Who shares his room during the competition with his brother Scott for the first time since childhood: "It has grown a little since he slept in the bunk bed above me, and I slept in the one below. "
A neighbor of the room "Clearly in rugby mode" : "The other night, he was talking in his sleep and he was making touch announcements. He had to think about it! " A man could give third-row advice for Saturday: the father of the three brothers, Kevin Barrett, also out of Japan, himself played as third or second-line.
Another era
Effronterie of Jordie: "I am sure he will try to put his two cents in the next few days. As long as Scott does not follow his advice … I think that the tactics of the 1998 era would not pass today. "
"The competition between us is probably more fierce when we play cricket between us, the summer in the family garden, than in training with the All Blacks. »Beauden Barrett
Kevin Barrett obviously comes from another era. The one where you also had to work next to rugby. His ? Farmer in the New Zealand province of Taranaki on the North Island. His son Beauden, about the eight siblings in which he grew up: "The competition between us is probably more fierce when we play cricket between us, the summer in the family garden, than in training with the All Blacks. "
On 2 October, the three brothers put aside cricket: for the first time in nine editions of the World Cup, three New Zealand brothers played in the same match as holders. It was in the first round against Canada, at Oita: victory over the relatively univocal score of 63-0.
Before them, Tongans Elisi, Manu and Fe'ao Vunipola had also had this opportunity, in 1995 against Scotland. Just like the Samoans Tusi, Ken and George Pisi, in 2015 against South Africa, without however having started simultaneously.
This week, however, the New Zealand siblings almost returned home a few days. The All Blacks have just lost their paternal grandfather. " Difficult moments, says Beauden Barrett. The team has been very supportive, and we have always been given the opportunity to return home if necessary. "
No. 15 finally made the choice to stay in Japan. To win a second consecutive World Championship title, and share one with his two brothers.
