All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has detailed exactly what he wants to see from youngster Jordie Barrett, named to make his Rugby World Cup debut by starting on the right wing against Canada in Oita tomorrow.
After bursting into the All Blacks' ranks in 2017 with stellar performances for both Canterbury at provincial level, and the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, the youngest of the Barrett brothers has struggled over the last 12 months, unable to find the consistency expected of him at Test level.
What's more, the 22-year-old has struggled to find regular game time for the All Blacks, his versatility seeming to hurt his chances of holding on to a starting role for both club and country, at times shifted away from his preferred position of fullback and shoehorned onto the wing instead .
Beauden, Scott and Jordie are relishing the chance of all being in Japan.
Speaking to media after naming his side to face Canada yesterday, Hansen took time to specify exactly what he wants to see from Barrett, predicting a huge future for the talented 22-year-old.
"He's a very confident young man is our Jordie," Hansen began. "He has every right to be confident, he's a very skilled player.
"It's not his confidence that we have to get right, it's just his understanding, his pace of how he wants to play. He wants to do everything at 100 miles an hour, we've talked about that before in the media. He's making good progress, [I'm] pretty excited about where he's going to end up one day."
Following in the footsteps of older brothers Beauden and Scott, Hansen also urges Jordie to forge his own path, not trying to do too much, too soon.
"He's starting to really trust his processes and his preparation.
Coach Steve Hansen feels the 22-year-old is just trying to force things at the moment.
"He couldn't be in a better place to learn patience, could he? He's got to be patient. [They're] a very patient race of people, the Japanese, so he's copying them at the moment.
"It's like your kids, they're always in a hurry. Through trial and error, you can point out 'instead of charging at it, how about we just walk, we'll get the job done.'
"It's an experience thing. Here's a kid who all through his career, has been 100 miles an hour. [He] played cricket 100 miles an hour as a fast bowler, the faster he could bowl the better.
"He's played footy, first-five, second-five, he can play anywhere. We know he's got all the skills in the world, but he's in a hurry.
"He's got two brothers that are ahead of him. If you're in contest with your sibling, you're always in a hurry. You want to prove, not only to yourself, but your two siblings and everybody else that you're better than they are.
"With that comes some habits that we have to quietly change, to his credit he's working hard at that.
"We're starting to see it, his last few Test matches have been pretty good."
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