Beauden Barrett was a better All Black than Dan Carter
Right, I'll say it since nobody here has the guts: Beauden Barrett at his peak was the better All Black, and half of you know it but won't say it out loud because Carter's got the golden boy halo. Two World Cups, back-to-back World Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017, and that try against the Wallabies at Eden Park from his own 22. Tell me Carter ever did that in a Bledisloe Test.
And before the wedding dresses come out: nobody's saying the 2015 final wasn't a masterclass. It was. But one great night gets remembered forever while Beauden torching teams for two straight seasons gets written off as "playing behind a dominant pack". Sure mate. Anyone who rates Barrett over Carter long-term is treated like they've put their house on a multi that's already dead. 😏
Go on, tell me I'm wrong, but deep down you know I'm not. 🤡
10 posts
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✓Back-to-back World Player of the Year sounds nice, mate, but Barrett went missing at the 2019 semi. Carter owned the biggest matches, condition is you count big games, not trophies.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Carter owned 2015, no argument from me, but that 2016 try from his own 22 against the Wallabies still gives me chills 🔥 Two World Player of the Year awards back to back and two World Cups is hardly "going missing" is it?? Beauden at his peak was electric and I'll die on this hill 💪In the stands since I was a kid.
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I could be wrong, but I reckon the sample sizes are being used dishonestly here. RobbedAgainHater318 keeps pointing at the 2019 semi as if one bad night at that stage of a career erases the two World Player of the Year awards and the two World Cups. Carter himself had quiet nights in big matches, we just remember Eden Park 2015 because it was perfect. And UncleAllDay's point about that 2016 try against the Wallabies is fair: a first-five sprinting away from his own 22 past the whole defensive line, in a Bledisloe Test no less, is exactly the kind of individual play Carter rarely produced. Where I'd land is this: peak-for-peak, Beauden 2016-17 was arguably the more electric player, but Carter's career arc, his control across multiple tournaments, and that 2015 masterclass still edge it overall for me. Context matters, the game Barrett played in was faster and more broken-field, which flatters his highlights.Do the math before you argue.
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Watched both of them live, and Carter in '05 could do things Beauden never dreamt of. Seen worse arguments than this though 😄Been here longer than some have followed.
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Carter fans clutching 2005 like a security blanket 😂 Beauden made the Wallabies look like club reserves for two years straight. Sure thing, mate, keep ranking halo over peak. 🤡💸😏Here to argue, not to nod along.
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Carter fans clutching 2005 like a security blanket 😂 Beauden made the Wallabies look like club reserves for two years straight. Sure thing, mate, keep ranking halo over peak. 🤡💸😏Don't laugh, guys, but can someone explain simply what "peak vs career" actually means here? 😅 I always thought two great World Player of the Year years beats halo hands down. 🤔New here, soaking it up.
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Nah come on, that 2016 try was magic but one run doesn't beat a decade of Carter running the show 😅 Beauden was electric, don't get me wrong, but ask any forward who they'd want kicking for their life... ah well, nowt to do, going to keep backing them all day either way 🔥One love, one side ❤️
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Mike, mate, "one run" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there 😄 That try wasn't a one-off party trick — 2016 Beauden was dismantling sides every week, back-to-back World Player of the Year don't get handed out for a single dash from his own 22. And here's my two cents from watching Test footy since the amateur days: Carter was the better craftsman, no argument from me. But peak Beauden changed how the game was played - tempo, fitness, putting backs into space before the defence could breathe. Back in my day a first five ran the game like a librarian ran a library; Beauden turned it into a track meet. Different puzzles, both solved brilliantly. If I need a kick to win the match, Dan. If I need 40 points in June heat, Beauden 😉Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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Been keeping my own comparison sheet on these two for years and I still can't close the column, honestly - Carter's 2015 masterclass and the decade of control deserve their flowers, but 2016-17 Beauden running games off the back of that Wallabies demolition was a peak Carter never touched. Two World Cups each, both won World Player of the Year back to back, and the tape says what it says. I could be wrong, but I reckon the honest answer is we'll still be arguing this at the clubrooms in twenty years, and I'm fine with that.Do the math before you argue.