Jeff Wilson believes Beauden Barrett’s form, more than anything Damian McKenzie is doing, has created the bigger selection headache for Dave Rennie as the All Blacks prepare to face Scotland in the Nations Championship. The 35-year-old Test centurion started the international campaign down the pecking order, but he has forced his way back into the picture after a 2-0 Bledisloe Cup triumph.
That is a significant shift for a player whose Rugby World Cup ambitions had looked uncertain before injuries to Ruben Love and Richie Mo'unga opened the door. McKenzie moved from full-back to cover those absences during the Wallabies series, and Barrett then came into the team at 15 after McKenzie’s performances. Both players kept their places for the opening game against Scotland, but the balance of the selection debate has changed.
Wilson: Barrett is the one creating the pressure
Wilson was clear that Barrett’s recent level is forcing the issue.
“If he continues this great form at 10, how does that impact Beauden Barrett?” Wilson said, before adding that if Barrett keeps playing well, “it will be him who might give the selectors headaches because their preferred option was clearly McKenzie at 15 – that was the guy they wanted at 15.”
That is the key point. McKenzie was the preferred full-back before the Bledisloe Cup, while Will Jordan has been discussed as an alternative there, but not the first choice. Wilson said Jordan playing at full-back is “probably one of their last resorts” because the All Blacks “clearly want to see” their leading try-scorer scoring tries on the wing.
Why Scotland changes the test
Wilson also warned that Barrett’s form against Australia does not automatically settle the argument. “As much as he was great against Australia, and he was, this is a different challenge, this is a different type of game the northern hemisphere presents,” he said.
That matters because the Scotland match is not simply about carrying over Bledisloe Cup momentum. It is about whether Barrett can keep his place when the All Blacks are facing a different style of opposition, and whether Rennie can keep the backline balance steady without weakening another area of the team.
The pressure on the returning playmakers
Barrett’s resurgence also has a wider effect on the squad picture. Wilson said that if Barrett and McKenzie both continue their good form, that creates pressure on the return of Ruben Love and Richie Mo'unga next season.
“Not only does he have to come over the top of Ruben Love, now you’ve got to come over the top of McKenzie,” Wilson said of Mo'unga. With Mo'unga unavailable this week and targeting Wales, the competition for places remains very much alive.
So the immediate question is not just who starts against Scotland. It is whether Barrett’s form has changed the long-term pecking order as well. At the moment, Wilson’s verdict is that Barrett is the player forcing the biggest decisions on Dave Rennie, and that is a major shift from where this campaign began.
