Taranaki Rugby has confirmed All Black first five-eighth Beauden Barrett will turn out for his club side Coastal in week two of the CMK premier club competition.

The match against Southern on Saturday April 4 at his home ground in Rahotu, will be Barrett’s first match since the Rugby World bronze final in November.

Taranaki Rugby posted on its Facebook page an image of Barrett in his club colours confirming he will play.

Barrett often attends Coastal trainings when he can but last played 10 years ago. He was then snapped up in the New Zealand Rugby high performance system and played for the All Blacks Sevens team in two tournaments in 2010.

It’s too early to speculate whether he will start at first five-eight, come off the bench or have limited game time given he is yet to play Super Rugby with his new side the Blues in 2020. 

Barrett is due to return for the Blues on April 11 when they clash with his old team the Hurricanes.

The two-time World Rugby Player of the Year, Barrett will no doubt draw a large crowd at the Rahotu Domain.

Article added: Friday 06 March 2020