True to his word that he would support Tadhg Beirne in any hearing arising from his red card in Soldier Field last week, Beauden Barrett furnished the disciplinary panel which assembled on Tuesday evening with a statement that highlighted the mitigating circumstances of the third-minute incident when the two players collided.
Barrett had unexpectedly taken a pass from his halfback partner Cam Roigard and run into Beirne, who absorbed the impact and fell backwards. But after a stoppage of four minutes and 45 seconds referee Pierre Brousset issued Beirne with a yellow card. Upon review, to the astonishment of most, the Foul Play Review Officer Dan Jones upgraded it to a red card.
“I spoke to Tadhg after the game and I was gutted for him to be honest,” Barrett told the media afterwards. “It’s one of these unfortunate parts of the game. I didn’t expect the ball. I was hoping that Cam would have played the other option. [Tadhg] had no option and he didn’t intentionally put a shot on me.
“I can’t hide from the fact that I copped a shoulder to somewhere up there. That’s what happened. I’ll support him in terms of mitigating whatever happens next because I don’t feel there’s any intention there. It’s just unfortunate.
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“Certainly a miss in this instance. He may have only deserved a yellow but 20 (minutes) is the absolute worst in this instance. It’s more me personally feeling for him.”
Sure enough, in a classy gesture from a classy individual, Barrett’s statement to the disciplinary panel read: “I was running a decoy line on the short side, inside out, on the left side of the field (bench side). The play wasn’t designed for me to receive the ball, and I didn’t expect to be involved.
“However, Cam passed me the ball unexpectedly. I caught it _ more by luck than anticipation – and because I wasn’t prepared to carry, my body position was high and not committed with proper intent or force.
“As I carried into contact, I ran into a congested area, hoping Cam would play out the back. Initial contact was front-on and above the shoulder area. I take full responsibility for entering contact in a high position, as that contributed to the nature of the collision.
“I don’t believe the opposition player could have done much differently – it was a contact sport situation, and fortunately, Tadhg showed good awareness and controlled his force, which prevented a more serious collision.”
The disciplinary panel also received a statement from the New Zealand doctor, Dr James McGarvey, which stated: “Beauden Barrett did not suffer any direct injuries from the incident on the weekend that led to the red card.”
The red card was rightly revoked by the disciplinary panel, leaving Beirne free to play for Ireland against Japan on Saturday.
The Barrett family – including Beauden’s fellow All Blacks Scott and Jordie – spent a year in Ireland when Beauden was eight years old, and attended St Fiach’s National School in Ballinacree, Co Meath, where he learnt to play Gaelic football. Their father Kevin, whose grandparents are Irish, had taken up temporary work on a dairy farm while also playing with Buccaneers.
It doesn’t right the wrong of last week, but Beauden’s gesture will heighten the affection in which the Barretts are held following Jordie’s stint with Leinster last season.
