Super Rugby Pacific: Hurricanes playoffs push puts Ruben Love on Beauden Barrett’s path

The last time the Hurricanes reached the Super Rugby playoffs in such commanding form, they did so with a first five-eighths in his mid-20s trying to stake a claim to a vacant All Blacks playmaking throne.

Back in 2016 – the last and only time the Hurricanes have been crowned champions – it was Beauden Barrett who, after four years on the periphery of the All Blacks, took his game to a new level.

He was brilliant throughout the campaign, but in successive weekends in the finals series, he added maturity, discipline and strategic nous to the mix and proved, unequivocally, that he could bring the energy, creativity and dynamism the All Blacks would need in 2016 as they tried to rebuild in the post-Daniel Carter era.

The parallels between 2026 and 2016 are impossible to miss as the Hurricanes are once again being led by a first five-eighths in his mid-20s trying to stake a claim to an All Blacks playmaking throne that isn’t vacant as such, but hasn’t had a presiding occupant of sufficient stature these past two years to believe that their tenure is in any way safe.

And like Barrett did a decade ago, Ruben Love is hoping to use the next three weeks to demonstrate that he has the temperament for the big occasion and the necessary breadth of skills to deepen the Hurricanes’ offering through the playoffs.

It’s not yet a fait accomplis, however, that the Hurricanes and Love will merrily dance their way to another title, but there is an increasing chance that the next three weeks – the next three months perhaps – will deliver a narrative that one great career is perhaps starting to wind down to make way for another to begin.

The additional connection in this 2016-2026 parallel world is that the No 10 who currently sits not entirely convincingly on the All Blacks’ throne is Barrett.

He found himself there midway through 2024 when Damian McKenzie couldn’t convince former All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson that he had either a deep enough strategic appreciation of how test rugby functions or a good enough kicking game to execute a triple-threat attack.

Barrett usurped McKenzie not because he turned back the clock and produced his swashbuckling running game of old, but because he was a steady hand playing percentage rugby that just about held an uncertain game plan together.

The past two years were not vintage Barrett by any means. He was smart at times, mostly accurate and cohesive, but there is a sense that now that Robertson and his coaching cohorts have been cleaned out, the All Blacks need something more than a steady hand from their preferred No 10.

If the All Blacks are to reinvent themselves as an innovative attacking force as they want to, then they need a No 10 who brings a core offering of accuracy, calm, astute game management, smart tactical kicking, but also a bit of magic.

The All Blacks have had their best mini-periods of invincibility when they have had a young, fearless No 10 rewriting what is possible: in 2005 it was Carter, in 2016 it was Barrett and now the national team are in desperate need of more of that same instinctive brilliance that defences can’t read or shut down.

Barrett has been a brilliant operator for a long time, but it’s becoming increasingly hard to see that he has the capacity to dig out 18 months of the magical, freewheeling rugby he produced so effortlessly in his mid-20s.

The doubt isn’t triggered by his age – he’s 34 - but by the lack of discernible evidence he’s produced quality in the past two years.

Maybe, in his defence, it could be argued that he, like his teammates, was hampered by the confusion that reigned under Robertson and under Dave Rennie, he’ll be able to demonstrate that he’s still got that deadly acceleration and ability to play like he’s a clairvoyant seeing the future before everyone else.

But against that has been his form with the Blues this year, which has been hard to watch. They have descended into chaos and it’s not clear if Barrett is the cause or a symptom.

Great players, though, earn that title precisely because they have the resilience to bounce back and prove the doubters wrong and Barrett may yet have one last memorable chapter to write by regenerating the All Blacks under their new coaching team.

A Barrett rejuvenation story would be quite something, but there is an equally if not more compelling tale in the offing, which is the emergence of Love.

All the arguments can be made about test rugby being a different beast and an arena where experience trumps adventure, but the 25-year-old now looks to be fulfilling a destiny that was marked out for him by the rugby gods some time ago.

Love is playing with the all-important ingredient of self-confidence, which is underpinning his decision-making and enabling him to operate without the crippling inhibition with which some young first fives can be afflicted.

He has been careful to keep his core offering simple, accurate and mostly within the confines of the prescribed team patterns, but there have been little hints of his acceleration, his footwork and creativity.

There’s no doubt there is more in his repertoire than has been on view – and that the pressure of finals football may be the catalyst for Love to let himself off the leash and play instinctively in search of the killer play and stake an irresistible claim to be Rennie’s preferred No 10.

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.