Scott Barrett on nerves, lungs and a long road back
"I was actually a little bit nervous when the team got named, first week back in the environment," Scott Barrett told Inside the Black Jersey. "I was sort of thinking [I'd] maybe be on the bench."
The 50-19 Bledisloe Cup win on 10 October was his first Test since November 2025, ending what he called a "longer than expected sort of sabbatical".
"It was a long time coming," he said. "It was a great feeling to be back out there again."
The road back began early in the year, when a tight hip turned into a calf that would not fire. A bulging disc was pressing on a nerve, and after four weeks of trying to let it settle, Barrett had a microdiscectomy. Four months of rebuilding his core and calf followed, and the setback cost him the tour of South Africa.
By the time he was named in the Bledisloe Cup squad, he had two games for Taranaki behind him. Former All Blacks Halfback Brad Weber had seen enough, having watched Barrett do damage against his beloved Magpies in the Hilux NPC.
WATCH: Scott Barrett opens up on Inside the Black Jersey
But as Weber pointed out, no amount of fitness work on your own prepares you for Test rugby. Barrett lasted 71 minutes at Eden Park, and admitted he felt every one of them.
"Nothing can prepare for rugby. The lungs were certainly feeling it, but I always try to tell myself if your lungs are hurting, you're in the right place, you're working."
The physical side was only half the challenge. There was homework to do as well.
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He was not alone. Shannon Frizell returned to the squad for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and the pair learned the game plan together. Barrett said much of the language was similar to last year for him, but Frizell, three years out of the team, had a whole new one to learn.
With one Test back under his belt, the next step is Wallabies v All Blacks, 17 October 2026 at Accor Stadium, Sydney.
"For us, really, it's the challenge of backing up the performance," Barrett said. "Let's give them the full respect this week."
