RUGBY NEWS - The Vodacom Bulls are treating news that All Black and World Rugby Player of the year Beauden Barrett won’t be playing this weekend at Loftus Versfeld with a tiny smidgen of suspicion.
It isn’t that the Bulls don’t believe the reports that Barrett won’t be starting for the Hurricanes, it is rather because they think he may well make an appearance somewhere off the bench this week.
Bulls coach John Mitchell laughed off the reports but said he had an idea that Barrett may well be seen on the park at Loftus Versfeld.
It isn’t clear if the Hurricanes are simply playing mind games or if they will bring Barrett on from the bench, but they certainly are making a meal of his inclusion ahead of both side’s opening games in round two of the competition.
“He hasn't played any pre-season minutes, so he'll come off the bench probably in Pretoria. We may yet choose to make that one of his All Black rest weeks, we'll wait and see how that pans out," Hurricanes head coach Chris Boyd told stuff.co.nz about Barrett before the team left for South Africa.
