Kids are nothing if not honest as All Blacks star Beauden Barrett found out to his cost after helping out in the community earlier this year.<\/b><\/p>\n
The New Zealand centurion was acting as waterboy during a club game as University took on Marist at Colin Maiden Park in Auckland when he spoke to a young lad by the name of Toby after the game.<\/p>\n
It was a conversation that was featured in the excellent Behind the Fern documentary, your all-access pass to the All Blacks<\/a> which goes behind the scenes of their 2025 Test campaign and is free to watch on YouTube and NZR+<\/a>.<\/p>\n Barrett savaged<\/p>\n Barrett<\/a> began by asking the youngster who his favourite player is, but, despite chatting to the legendary fly-half, Toby said without hesitation, \u201cDamian McKenzie\u201d, the 34-year-old\u2019s direct rival for the 10 shirt.<\/p>\n The playmaker might have been hurt on the inside but he didn\u2019t show it and took it in good spirits, saying: \u201cOh, good stuff, he\u2019s over at the Beachlands today. He\u2019s going over there to support and do something else.\u201d<\/p>\n Toby then wanted to tell the All Blacks pivot about his own rugby journey and how he is looking to play nine going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cNext week, I\u2019m going to be the half-back, I didn\u2019t really get the ball that much,\u201d he said, with Barrett responding: \u201cGet amongst it next week, move into half-back, you get plenty of ball.\u201d<\/p>\n Barrett may have therefore thought the brutal blows had finished as they moved onto playing positions, but the young New Zealand fan then delivered another savage comment.<\/p>\n Unprompted, he told the playmaker that his brother\u2019s \u201csecond favourite player is your brother, Jordie Barrett.\u201d<\/p>\n To the All Blacks star\u2019s credit, he once again took it with good grace, saying: \u201cOh, good stuff, awesome. He\u2019ll take that, nice to meet you,\u201d although you wondered whether it really felt like a dagger to the heart.<\/p>\n All Blacks great expresses doubt about \u2018unsettled\u2019 Ireland after Andy Farrell\u2019s \u2018unusual\u2019 Lions decisions<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Don\u2019t want to put him under too much pressure\u2019<\/p>\n The entertaining conversation, perhaps unsurprisingly, ended at that point, but after Toby had left, the producer could not resist asking: \u201cYou weren\u2019t tempted to ask who his third favourite player is?\u201d<\/p>\n Barrett, who was typically self-effacing throughout, responded: \u201cNa, gosh, I don\u2019t want to put him under too much pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n That humble nature was shown throughout the Behind the Fern series, which has gone behind the scenes with the All Blacks in 2025.<\/p>\n Now nine episodes in, the series has followed New Zealand through their 3-0 series victory over France in July before a slightly more frustrating Rugby Championship, which saw them finish second behind the Springboks, who retained their title.<\/p>\n They have now embarked on their Grand Slam tour in the Northern Hemisphere, where Scott Robertson\u2019s men will take on Ireland in Chicago on Saturday, November 1, before facing Scotland, England and Wales.<\/p>\n And Behind the Fern offers viewers unprecedented access to the locker room of one of the most iconic and successful sports teams in the world, pairing match-day drama with personal moments, from team talks and recovery sessions to travel days and cultural rituals \u2013 delivering an authentic, player-led story that only the All Blacks can tell.<\/p>\n