The All Blacks have had a pack of Japanese journalists following them around this World Cup. They’re the only team who have hired a full time go-between to translate every last question and answer, which says plenty about their attention to detail and just as much about their desire to crack the Japanese market. There is a five-minute slot set aside for their questions at the end of every press conference, and over the weeks, there has been one that has come up over and again. It’s the same question we all of us ask at one time or another, the one Eddie Jones is convinced he knows the answer to: ‘What makes you so good?’
This week it was Scott Barrett’s turn to field it. Barrett is not a bad man to ask, because whatever they were doing down on the little dairy farm in Taranaki where he, Beauden, and Jordie grew up it clearly worked. He said it was to do with the ball skills they learned played different sports “cricket, basketball, athletics, hockey” but I prefer his father Kevin’s answer: “It must be something in the milk.” Turns out you really can bottle it. The only surprise is the NZRU haven’t started flogging it. It was only last week that one of their regional partners, Mitsubishi, announced the launch of a limited edition range of All Blacks themed SUVs.
Written by Andy Bull in Tokyo
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/25/barrett-new-zealand-all-blacks-rugby-world-cup under the title “The fabulous Barrett boys: New Zealand’s humble rugby superstars | Andy Bull”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
