The All Blacks aren't forcing their makeshift first-five Jordie Barrett to do anything different than he already does for the team, assistant coach Ian Foster says.
Barrett was named to start in the black No.10 jersey for tomorrow night's Rugby World Cup clash against Namibia, with regular first-fives Richie Mo'unga and Beauden Barrett rested.
But while Barrett hasn't played flyhalf for the All Blacks before, Foster told media today there hasn't been a need to mold him for the role.
"It's been a very limited time period," Foster said.
"It's not like we've had a big major programme with him behind the scenes for weeks and weeks.
Hansen said Barrett's swagger shouldn’t be mistaken for arrogance though.
"We had a training run yesterday and let him run the roost for a while and he did a pretty good job."
With the limited time to prepare, Foster said the expectation on Barrett is different from what they usually ask of their first-fives.
"Our expectations are Jordie just goes out and runs the team like any 10 does," Foster said.
"He's really clear about what we're doing... now he's got a slightly different role but nothing changes."
The All Blacks play Namibia in Tokyo tomorrow at 5:45pm NZT.
SHARE ME