IT HAS BEEN a beautiful few days for Leinster fans.
Fresh from beating arch-rivals La Rochelle in their Champions Cup quarter-final in the Dublin sun on Saturday, there was the announcement of a new IRFU central contract for hooker Dan Sheehan, keeping him with Leinster and Ireland until at least 2026.
And then came the really big news. As the rumour started to spread yesterday morning, it was hard to believe at first. Jordie Barrett to Leinster?
Confirmation arrived at 6pm. The All Blacks back will join on a six-month deal as he takes a sabbatical as part of his new contract with New Zealand Rugby.
The deal makes complete sense for Leinster. They are getting a world-class player in his prime. Barrett turned 27 earlier this year. He is not a former giant past his best and into the twilight of his career. He is a bona fide superstar who was one of the best players at last year’s World Cup, making a huge impact in the number 12 shirt for the All Blacks.
This is the biggest signing in Irish provincial rugby since Munster’s capture of Springboks duo Damian de Allende and RG Snyman in 2020.
Barrett will join Leinster after the 2024 November Tests, a series in which he will play against several of his soon-to-be-team-mates as the Kiwis face Ireland in Dublin. They already know plenty about him and it was Barrett’s right thigh that denied Ireland a potentially game-winning try in the World Cup quarter-final last year.
Leinster are said to be impressed that Barrett was keen to link up with the province immediately after that international window. The thinking was that he might have taken a holiday before turning up at the province, but it seems he will instead get straight to work in Dublin. Barrett will be involved with Leinster then until the end of the season, which could stretch to mid-June. His stay may even be a hint over six months.
Leo Cullen and co. were also excited by how eager Barrett was to join once contact was made. There was an unsurprising rush from other clubs once it became clear he would be available. Leinster will obviously pay Barrett handsomely for his services but it’s understood he could have earned more in France or Japan. Had he opted for a move to a Japanese club, he would have had a less physically taxing stint but Barrett is believed to see this move to Leinster as a chance to get better as a player.
The playing squad is of the highest quality, while the chance to work with Cullen and two-time World Cup winner Jacques Nienaber is attractive. It also helped that Leinster are expected to sign Barrett’s current attack coach at the Hurricanes, the highly-rated former Munster man Tyler Bleyendaal, to succeed Andrew Goodman next season, as revealed by Bernard Jackman on The 42 Rugby Weekly Extra podcast yesterday.
And even if it’s understandable for people to be a bit cynical about it, there’s no doubt that it will be nice for Barrett to return to Ireland where he lived as a six-year-old when his father, Kevin, ran a farm in Oldcastle, Co. Meath and played rugby for Buccanneers.
It’s not thought Leinster will be restricted in where they use Barrett, who has played the majority of his professional rugby at either fullback or inside centre. The All Blacks predominantly used him at number 15 up until late 2022 when he made the switch to inside centre with great success.
Barrett has also played Tests on the left wing and right wing, while he even started one game at out-half against Namibia at the 2019 World Cup. However, he has never started a club game at number 10 for the Hurricanes, Taranaki, or Canterbury.
It’s not thought there will be specific IRFU restrictions on Barrett’s playing minutes either – as will be the case with South African second row Snyman next season – so the Kiwi will add competition and depth across the backline.
Barrett will essentially be a replacement for current non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] back Charlie Ngatai, who has predominantly featured in midfield for Leinster but has also offered cover at fullback. Ngatai, who was capped by the All Blacks in 2015, is set to leave this summer at the end of his two-year deal.
Barrett is clearly a big upgrade and while he won’t be around for the first part of the season, Leinster should have him in situ in time for the start of their Champions Cup campaign in December.
In signing off on this deal, outgoing IRFU performance director David Nucifora is evidently unconcerned about an Irish player potentially being deprived of game time in big matches with Leinster.
22-year-old back Jamie Osborne has emerged forcefully, playing at fullback, on the wing, and in midfield to catch the eye of Ireland boss Andy Farrell, while the equally flexible 26-year-old Ciarán Frawley is another man who has come into the Ireland mix.
27-year-old Jimmy O’Brien is a third versatile outside back and, like Frawley, is now an Ireland international.
Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose are the senior men in midfield, Hugo Keenan is first-choice at fullback, while the likes of outside centre Liam Turner are also competing for minutes but Leinster’s squad is not as deeply stacked in the outside backs as is the case up front.
Injuries are always part of the picture, as Cullen often points out, and it’s worth remembering that 2024/25 is a Lions season so the top players’ minutes may be managed even more than usual.
Barrett’s arrival could obviously mean an Irish-qualified player misses out at certain stages, yet the fact that it’s only a short-term deal probably makes it much less of a concern for the IRFU.
At the same time, Nucifora is more aware than anyone of just how important Leinster are in producing players for the national squad. 19 of Ireland’s initial 34-man setup for this year’s Six Nations play for Leinster, who provide the bulk of the starting XV.
Products of the Leinster pipeline are also dotted around the other three provinces’ squads. It is expected that another raft of young players from Leinster will move to other provinces this summer, including a handful of the current Ireland U20s squad. Given the population of Leinster, it’s to be expected that they’re the biggest producer of players but there’s little doubt that Leinster – and the schools and clubs within the province – deliver in a huge way for the national team.
Cullen and co. haven’t been reliant on NIQ players. There are currently three in their senior squad in Ngatai, Jason Jenkins, and Michael Ala’alatoa, all of whom will likely have direct replacements next season.
Barrett is taking Ngatai’s spot, second row Snyman will come in for Jenkins on a one-year deal, while Leinster have yet to confirm a new signing at tighthead prop in place of Ala’alatoa. It’s understood there has been contact with Wallabies star Taniela Tupou but it’s not thought a move is imminent, with strong interest in him from French club Toulon among others.
Leinster are believed to have explored options in Ireland, expressing interest in both Connacht’s Finlay Bealham and Ulster’s Tom O’Toole, but it now looks more likely they will recruit an NIQ replacement for Ala’alatoa. That there have been discussions with Tupou underlines that they’re looking for a top-end addition.
There’s no doubt Leinster’s chances of signing a player like Barrett are helped by the fact that Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris, James Ryan, Sheehan, Andrew Porter, and Tadhg Furlong will all be on IRFU central contracts next season. This basically means those expensive players are not part of Leinster’s player salary budget.
As things stand, Munster’s Tadhg Beirne, Connacht’s Bundee Aki, and Ulster’s Iain Henderson will be the only other players in Ireland on full central contracts next season, although the IRFU will top up Conor Murray and Peter O’Mahony’s one-year provincial deals with Munster.
Leinster would point out that their players being on central contracts means they’re strictly managed throughout the season, as well as being absent for large parts of the campaign due to their commitments with Ireland. There is also the physical toll of playing the majority of Ireland’s Tests, with Keenan, Ringrose, and Ryan currently all sidelined with post-Six Nations injuries.
The central contracts allow Leinster to retain a strong second tier of players, those who are not frontliners in Champions Cup weeks, but could be at other provinces or clubs. But with 18 or 19 players away in international camp every time, Leinster would argue that they need this depth in their squad.
The Irish provinces cannot outbid each other on player salaries and lots of Leinster players have had chances to move elsewhere in recent years – the likes of Sheehan, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, and Will Connors, among others – but all have decided to stay put.
While the central contracts reality is a huge boost for Leinster financially, they have also worked hard to become stronger commercially. Selling out the Aviva Stadium for the La Rochelle game with just a week to do so was impressive and, much like the other provinces, they’re always looking to attract more investment from sponsors.
Leinster are likely to feel that investing in a player like Barrett will have a commercial pay-off too. It clearly gets fans excited. It would be no surprise if his arrival results in more season ticket sales, which is especially important given that Leinster are set to operate away from the RDS next season as it gets refurbished. It remains to be seen where they play all their games but if they’re trying to get big crowds into places like the Aviva Stadium and Croke Park, having Barrett as well as Snyman should help.
The bottom line is that Barrett should make them a better rugby team and while last Saturday’s win over La Rochelle showed that Leinster are already in a good spot, they haven’t had the trophy success they desire in recent years.
Two years without a URC title and one Champions Cup in the last 11 years haven’t satisfied their ambitions.
Barrett certainly boosts their trophy credentials for next season.
