The respect between contrasting generations of rugby playmakers will be a heart-warming subplot when the Stormers take on the All Blacks on Friday night.
Veteran New Zealand flyhalf Beauden Barrett says he intends to seek out Stormers youngster Yaqeen Ahmed after the match, having learned that the 20-year-old has modelled his game on the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year.
The two No 10s find themselves at opposite ends of their careers. Ahmed is just beginning his senior journey after helping the Junior Springboks to World Rugby Under-20 Championship glory, while Barrett, 35, has amassed 144 Test caps and established himself as one of the greatest flyhalves of the professional era.
Barrett smiled broadly when told that Ahmed had grown up studying his game.
“I feel honoured that I was once looked up to by him,” Barrett said in Cape Town.
“As All Blacks, we’re always trying to do our best to inspire kids across the globe and not just in New Zealand.
“So it’s pretty cool that we have a chance to go head-to-head, and I will certainly make sure that I chat to him after the game and share a cold drink with him afterwards because he’s certainly the future.”
Barrett believes the Stormers are well stocked at flyhalf for years to come, with Ahmed joining Springbok star Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in an exciting stable of young talent.
“With him and Sacha, I guess the Stormers are in pretty good hands going forward,” Barrett said.
“And the success of the Junior Boks in recent times has been superb. I certainly will be paying respect to those named in the Stormers team and just being aware of their trends and threats because obviously both nine (Imad Khan) and 10 are very talented, with great skill sets and running ability.
“For most of the week we’ve been focusing on our game and the Stormers’ trends in general. But now that we’ve done most of our work, we’ll have a little bit more of an individual focus on who we’re up against.”
One of the senior statesmen in the All Blacks squad, Barrett will also draw on his wealth of experience from previous tours to South Africa.
The former Hurricanes star has fond memories of playing at the old Newlands stadium, where he came up against Springbok greats such as Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers.
“I can recall playing at Newlands. It’s still in the top three stadiums for me,” Barrett said.
“We’ve respectfully prepared around who we’re up against. The Stormers had a successful last season, making the URC semi-finals, so we’re aware of their threats.”
Friday’s match also represents an important opportunity for Barrett personally after he was overlooked by new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie during the recent Nations Championship.
“It’s been a good chance to work on my game and freshen up,” he said. “I’m excited to get out there with scrumhalf Cortez Ratima against a quality team.
“What’s probably been evident is the speed and skill set that’s required to play the game that we want to. That’s been very positive for us.
“There’s been a good overflow from the success of the Super Rugby teams. It’s reasonably consistent with the way that Dave and attack coach Mike Blair want to play.
“It’s our DNA and how we like to play, how we arguably used to play, and there’s a nice free-flowing element to it.”
