After a 2017 All Blacks v Samoa game at Eden Park: Brothers Jordie, Scott and Beauden Barrett with their parents Kevin and Robyn. Photo: photosport
Veteran Taranaki rugby player Kevin 'Smiley' Barrett has three sons playing in the Rugby World Cup final against the Springboks tomorrow.
So how is he, and their mum Robyn feeling ahead of Jordie, Beauden and Scott all starting in a game which could restore the All Blacks' status as the best rugby team in the world?
Much of the Barrett clan is in Paris to see the final, and expect to be on the edge of their seats.
"The boys have been playing well. We've been on the right side of the ledger on the scoreboard, so I just hope it continues tomorrow."
Is he nervous? "Yes, a little bit. [And] the boys are always nervous a little bit - you wouldn't be human if you're not.
"You just wish the boys just all go out and have a good one. The whole 15 played well the last couple of weeks and we've got no injuries and the boys are definitely up for it. So we're all behind them."
Kevin watched the pool matches live, and was happy the All Blacks showed they "had a lot in their tank".
"Ireland were at the top of their game, and the pressure was on them there."
"That loss [to Ireland in July 2022] in New Zealand was a blessing in disguise I believe - that just really made us really look at our game plan and the way we were tackling, and turn it round.
Jordie, Scott and Beauden Barrett Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"We brought in [forwards coach] Jason Ryan - [that] was instrumental I believe. And just brought in a few extra players in the front row - our forwards weren't paving the way for our backs. Rugby hasn't changed in a few years - the forwards win games, and the backs determine by how much - it's pretty simple.
"I back the boys all the way, they'll get the job done."
During his own rugby career, he confirms he made a remark during an interview that has now proved prophetic - that his ambition was to "breed more All Blacks".
At the time his boys "were just boys running around and being boys", and while he was joking at the time, the family did place an emphasis on sport, and wanted their children to be happy playing whichever sport they chose. They enrolled the kids in athletics and played gaelic football during a stint living in Ireland.
"Our family are really proud of our boys, the whole coast owns our boys - they just love 'em getting out there. And they just love where they come from, they're real coastal Taranaki boys. Everyone just gets behind them."
Jordie, Beauden and Scott also all played at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where the All Blacks finished third.
Does Kevin and his wife Robyn worry about Jordie, Beauden or Scott getting hurt while playing?
Jordie Barrett and Scott Barrett with their father Kevin holding the Ranfurly Shield in 2016. Photo: Photosport
"Yeah I do - and more so my wife. We do care, it's a brutal game.
"It was very sickening last year when Beauden was taken ...down by the South African winger when he came down his neck - I mean that could have been career-ending for Beauden, he could have been in a wheel-chair, but he bounced back. Yeah, we do, we just really feel for the boys.
"Robyn cannot watch a lot of games - she just puts her shoes on and starts walking up the road when it gets tight ... and then the first thing she asks for is: 'Are the boys okay?'
"Watching it live she can't run away, I'm sitting next to her and holding her there.
"She'll enjoy it. I enjoy watching it live because you can see more."
But Kevin Barrett says he would like to see "some tweaks" to the game to make it safer, and believes the same tweaks could improve game play as well.
"I believe at the breakdown is the main concern - you should not be able to put your hands on the ground or the hands on the player. So that would lift the body height and then that would commit more players to the ruck.
"And you would have more forwards at the breakdown to counter ruck, there'd be more ruck-ball, hence ruck-ball creates more backplay, you'd have less forwards in the backline and that would be a spectacle and with that you'd have heads coming in - you'd go back to the old days where you'd bind up and clean out.
"Teams just zero ruck now - where they just have no-one commit to the ruck, they have a tactic where they just stand off, so, hence you've got 13 or 14 players in the backline and it's just like a league defence - it's just like running into a brick wall."
