Ian Foster’s main concern over Jordie Barrett’s move to ‘relentless’ northern hemisphere

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Ex-All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has expressed slight doubts over Jordie Barrett’s move to Leinster at the end of the 2024 Test campaign.

The 27-year-old will join the Irish province on a six-month sabbatical at the conclusion of New Zealand’s end-of-year tour.

By the end of his stint in Dublin, Barrett would have been playing from February 2024 to June 2025 and should still be available for the All Blacks’ Test campaign that year.

It is a big workload, especially in comparison to his international team-mates who tend to take up short-term options in Japan.

Physicality and intensity

The northern hemisphere’s tournaments are more physically demanding than the Japan Rugby League One in Asia which could take its toll on the star centre later down the line.

“It will be interesting what the level of rugby is like for him coming from the end of a big long season and then going into a UK winter,” Foster told The Times’ The Ruck podcast.

“There’s a certain relentlessness about their competitions so the proof will be in the pudding and how effective that is for him.

“He probably won’t know for about a year after that because often it takes a while for the body to catch up, so I will be watching that with interest.”

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Barrett is a rare case of a current All Black trying their hand in the northern hemisphere and he will certainly boost Leinster’s hopes of finally ending their search for silverware.

The Irish side once again succumbed in the latter stages of the Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship in 2024, leaving them trophyless for the third campaign in a row.

It appears a good fit with Barrett’s talents adding to Leinster’s already strong squad. Leo Cullen’s men will almost inevitably be involved in the end-of-season shake-up in 2025 and the All Black could well get them over the line.

Irish connection

However, Foster says that there is perhaps a bigger reason for the talented back choosing Ireland over other potential destinations.

“There’s a strong pull from the Irish with his background and his family,” he said, before jokingly adding: “There’s a lot of good golf courses up there, so I think there’s a whole lot of motives for him.

“Jordie’s often cut his own path a little bit. He came and knocked on our door a couple of years ago and wanted to go and train with the Melbourne Storm in his pre-season for 10 days.

“We thought that was a good idea and he was stimulated by that. He’s chasing something up there at Leinster, we’ll see how that goes.”