Jordie Barrett Signs Short-Term Deal With Leinster For Next Season

In signing a new contract extension with the New Zealand Rugby Union, the 27-year-old has exercised an option to play overseas and he will join up with his new Leinster team-mates later this year in December.

Barrett has strong family connections with the province and with County Meath where he spent some time in the early 2000s when his family relocated to Oldcastle, while his father, Kevin, managed a farm and played rugby with Buccaneers.

Speaking about the decision, the 57-times capped All Black said: “It’s going to be a great place for me to develop as a rugby player in a different environment where I’ll learn so many different things.

“Ireland is a special place for the Barrett family. We’ve got so many great family connections in Oldcastle, in County Meath and throughout Dublin.

“To have an opportunity to go back and meet some family and friends and connections that were made twenty years ago is pretty cool.”

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen welcomed the announcement and looked forward to welcoming Barrett to the province, saying: “We’re delighted that Jordie has agreed to join us after New Zealand’s tour in early December, especially as he has chosen Leinster ahead of a number of other very attractive options.

“Jordie is a fifty-plus cap All Black with an outstanding skill-set who has been performing at the highest level of the game for multiple seasons now.

“He is keen to seek out a new experience at Leinster and I’m sure we will learn a lot from each other during his time with us. The Barrett family have strong connections with Ireland and Leinster in particular, so it’s a sort of homecoming for him!

“I’m sure all our supporters will be really excited to welcome one of the best players in the world and see up close what he brings to the team. We would also like to thank the New Zealand Rugby Union for their support with this move.”

In 2000, Kevin and his wife Robyn spent 15 months in Oldcastle with their children. When living in Ireland, the Barretts attended St. Fiach’s National School in Ballinacree.

As well as looking forward to reconnecting with some old faces, Jordie is relishing the chance to challenge himself in a new rugby environment.

“As a whole, I think this move is going to be really challenging, but a positive challenge. Heading north to different conditions, different teams, different referees – I think it will open my game up, make me see the game differently and I’ll ultimately bring the best bits back to New Zealand rugby and into a Test jersey, ideally, at the end of it.

“The reality of being a professional athlete is that you’ve only got a small window to have these opportunities and I’d love to be sitting there in twenty or thirty years with my kids or grandkids, knowing that I left no stone unturned, and I took up this opportunity to better myself.”

Barrett, who has played over 100 Super Rugby games with the Hurricanes, will join Leinster in December and will stay until the end of the 2024/25 season.