Shock as Beauden Barrett left with two black eyes after incident with All Black teammate
All Blacks No 10 Beauden Barrett has said the reason he will line up against Fiji this Saturday with two black eyes is down to a teammate.
The 30-year-old did not pick up the shiners in the 102-0 win over Tonga last Saturday, rather it was coming up against Ethan Blackadder in training this week.
“Yeah it was [friendly fire],” Barrett said after encountering the 111kg loose forward Blackadder this week. “I was warned about Ethan Blackadder when he first came into camp and found out about that pretty quick so between him and big man next to me [returning All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick], you’ve got to stay well clear of them at training.”
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has previously mentioned how Retallick is looking in training, which serves as a stark warning to Fiji ahead of their clash in Dunedin this Saturday.
“I’ve seen Finlay Christie get smacked out of a ruck and do a somersault and I chuckled and said ‘welcome back Brodie’ and that was a non-contact session,” Foster said last week. “That means that Brodie is back, doesn’t it?”
