All Blacks midfield weapon Barrett in doubt for World Cup opener

New Zealand midfielder Jordie Barrett is in doubt for the World Cup opener against France while battling knee soreness.

Barrett, who has proved a revelation at inside centre this season after shifting forward, had not trained this week in the lead-up to Friday's game at Stade de France, All Blacks assistant coach Scott McLeod said.

“He's had the night off and the day off today,” McLeod told New Zealand media from training in Lyon.

“We’ll have to see how he wakes up tomorrow. He’ll have an assessment before [training] to see where he's at, and we’ll go from there.”

The three-time world champions suffered their worst Test defeat with the last month's 35-7 drubbing by South Africa at Twickenham, having won all four previous Tests in 2023.

McLeod said the players were more switched on at camp after the Springboks setback.

“Their ears have been open a lot more, they’ve searched a lot deeper in terms of their execution and understanding of what they have to do, and they want to build to a level they want to play at.

“The legacy of the jersey means a great deal to the players, and they don’t want to let that down.

“From my knowledge of All Blacks teams, when they lose, they hurt a lot. They don’t like losing and want to rectify it.

“That will be our motivation first and foremost, that’s what we’ve been building towards, and France just adds to that motivation in terms of being the host nation, and one of our great opponents.”

Reuters

TIMESLIVE WORLD CUP BUILD-UP PROFILES

Pools:

Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D

Star players:

Canan Moodie, South Africa | Selestino Ravutaumada, Fiji | Ardie Savea, New Zealand | Will Skelton, Australia | Johnny Sexton, Ireland | Antoine Dupont, France 

All the World Cup pools and fixtures here