Jordie Barrett backs All Blacks rotation ahead of Italy test in Wellington

Jordie Barrett has backed the All Blacks’ intention to rotate their squad for round two of the Nations Championship against Italy in Wellington, describing the approach as the right call for the team’s long-term development under head coach Dave Rennie.

New Zealand edged France 34-32 in round one, with 10 familiar starters carrying over from last year and three new faces introduced from the bench. Assistant coach Neil Barnes confirmed on Monday that further changes are coming, telling media: “There are some boys that went alright last week that might not be in there, but there were also some really good performances that are going to be rewarded.”

Barrett, who started at second five-eighth against France, acknowledged that wholesale changes are never straightforward in the short term but argued the broader benefits outweigh the disruption. “I think in the short-term it’s certainly not ideal rolling a whole lot of new bodies in, but long-term, a few weeks, months down the track, even further, it’s the best plan,” he said. “We’re going to get a lot of growth out of our whole squad, from one to 36.”

Two locks, Tupou Vaa’i and Patrick Tuipulotu, were ruled out of the France match with injuries but are expected to be available this week. Prop Pasilio Tosi was also being monitored. Nine further players in the 34-man squad are still awaiting their first minutes in the black jersey this season.

Barrett, who began his international career primarily at fullback, described his own positional role as “pretty fluid,” saying he is comfortable operating across both the backfield and the midfield within the same game.

Reflecting on the France encounter at One New Zealand Stadium, Barrett noted the physical toll of a high-tempo, low-kicking contest played indoors. “The boys are pretty wrecked. There’s no GPS under the roof, so there’s no excuse for why we’re tired,” he said. “There was a lot of ball in play; lightning-quick ball was about 83 per cent, which is a crazy stat.”

New Zealand kicked just 17 times against France — eight fewer than their average on last year’s Grand Slam Northern Tour — a deliberate tactical shift. “The plan was to kick a whole lot less than we have in the past, and just look for opportunities to run from our own half, even deep in our own 22,” Barrett revealed.