Beauden Barrett's pre-match chat ahead of the Greatest Rivalry tour opener doubles as a trip down memory lane — his first outing against the Stormers at Newlands in 2012 (a game that also happened to be Siya Kolisi's debut) clearly left a mark. Barrett rates Newlands in his personal top-three venues and speaks warmly about the city, but the substance of his preparation is firmly forward-looking. He flags the Stormers' URC semifinal run as a reference point and singles out debutant Yaqeen Ahmed alongside Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as a halfback pairing with serious upside, crediting the Junior Bok pipeline for producing them. Barrett will line up opposite Ahmed with Cortez Ratima at nine.
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Barrett nostalgic for Newlands as All Blacks size up a new-look Stormers
Barrett reflects on a 2012 Newlands debut against the Stormers — the same match Kolisi announced himself — while sizing up a new-look Stormers backline led by debutant Yaqeen Ahmed ahead of the Greatest Rivalry tour opener.
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