OITA, Japan (AP) - They were the second trio of brothers to appear together in a Rugby World Cup match.
But they were the first trio of brothers to appear together and all score tries.
The Barretts _ Beauden, Scott, and Jordie _ all made it on the scoreboard as New Zealand overwhelmed Canada 63-0 on Wednesday in a Pool B match in the Oita Dome. Beauden and Scott could have had two tries each, but both dropped the ball with the tryline at their mercy.
“It was pretty cool to all dot down and share some special moments out there,” Beauden said. “We had plenty of ball to express ourselves.”
The brothers played in the same All Blacks match for the first time in 2017, and started together for the first time in 2018. This was their first appearance together in a Rugby World Cup _ following Elisi, Fe’ao, and Manu Vunipola for Tonga in 1995 _ and Beauden said he was pretty emotional during the national anthem. “The haka and game were the fun part,” he said.
Jordie’s try was first, and the easiest. He only had to catch flyhalf Richie Mo’unga’s crosskick to his right wing and fall over to score. There wasn’t a Canadian within 10 meters.
Scott should have been next after blowing through the lines off a ruck, but as he was about to plant the ball, he dropped it. Scott scored against South Africa in their previous pool match, and received grief for his old man dive. He learned a lesson.
“I had a laugh,” Beauden said of Scott’s error. “The dive looked pretty good this time, he just lost control of it. I don’t know if he’s been working on it but it looks good.”
Jordie said: “I gave him a little bit of jip (grief) at full time.”
Beauden’s try was just before halftime, scooping up a Sonny Bill Williams grubber kick in front of the posts.
Scott got his in the new half, after Mo’unga’s round-the-corner pass to captain Kieran Read, who passed inside to Scott, who stopped and put the ball down with both hands, with both knees bent.
Beauden then should have had his second, after the fulltime hooter. He broke free of the defense and went 50 meters. He was almost at the tryline when the ball suddenly flew from his grasp.
“Embarrassing but funny,” he said. “It was like I was on a treadmill. If it happened in the first minute I’d be seriously worried, but I was absolutely exhausted. I just wish the ball went dead; we had to carry on playing for another 30, 40 seconds.”
Coach Steve Hansen was rapt with the contribution from all three.
“Beauden is an exceptional footballer,” Hansen said. “I can’t wait to see the GPS numbers on how much he ran. He ran a lot.
“Scooter (Scott) played very well. I see he’s gone back to his non-flashy dive to score tries. He was very deliberate about how he put that down.”
“Jordie played with a lot of control and patience,” Hansen added. “He was pretty special. We’re blessed to have them. Their parents should be very proud of them.”
The parents, Kevin and Robyn, were, wishing all three boys luck.
“We’re all pretty happy out there, and happy we did the family proud,” Beauden said.
Jordie, the newest All Black among them, recalled when they grew up and played in the backyard.
“It’s 10 years ago or whatever when we used to play in the backyard and talk about going to the World Cup, and used to heckle each other about having a kick to win the World Cup,” Jordie said. “It’s just cool to be here and be able to play together. It was a lot of fun out there tonight.”
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