Add CategoryNew Zealand’s Barrett brothers have been rocked by a family tragedy ahead of the All Blacks’ quarter-final showdown with Ireland, after their grandfather died unexpectedly.
A death notice in the New Zealand Herald announced the “sudden passing” of Edward Michael (Ted) Barrett, aged 78, on Sunday surrounded by family in the North Island district of Taranaki.
It described him as a cherished husband, loving father and “adored Grandad Ted of all his grandchildren and his great-grandchild”.
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The grandchildren include siblings Beauden, Scott and Jordie, who earlier this month became the first trio of brothers to play for the All Blacks at a Rugby World Cup in New Zealand’s 63-0 win over Canada.
They are set to miss their grandfather’s funeral in New Plymouth on Wednesday as the defending champions prepare for a crunch quarter-final against Ireland on Saturday.
The close-knit Barrett clan all hail from Taranaki, where the brothers’ father, former Wellington Hurricanes forward Kevin, runs a dairy farm and raised eight children with wife Robyn, a talented former netballer and basketballer.
IRELAND UP FOR HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT
Johnny Sexton has questioned the “strange” negativity around Ireland’s Rugby World Cup campaign, insisting Joe Schmidt’s men are ready to peak for the All Blacks.
Five-eighth Sexton insisted Ireland always knew Japan’s quality before their 19-12 Pool A loss to the tournament hosts.
Japan beat Scotland 28-21 on Sunday to tee up a quarter-final clash with South Africa, handing Ireland a last-eight battle with back-to-back world champions New Zealand in Tokyo on Saturday.
Leinster star Sexton hopes Ireland have already shaken their typical World Cup quarter-final performance “out of our system” with that surprise loss to Japan and now called on his side to produce one of their best-ever performances against the All Blacks.
“We’ve been building pretty well apart from that poor 60 minutes against Japan; everything else has pretty much gone to plan,” he said.
“There’s been some negativity around us and we’d feel that’s been pretty strange.
“But we’re really confident in how we’re building.
“We’d like to be playing a bit better in some regards at times, but hopefully we can put that performance out there on Saturday.”