WHILE TOMORROW night’s European Champions Cup quarter-final against Glasgow Warriors at the Aviva Stadium is his main focus for now, Jordie Barrett is planning to keep a close eye on a fellow New Zealander at The Masters golf tournament in Augusta this weekend.

Amongst a packed field, Auckland native Ryan Fox is hoping to leave a lasting impression in the US city over the next four days. On the professional golf circuit since 2012, Fox is the son of former All Blacks star Grant Fox — who kicked 17 points from fly-half when New Zealand defeated France in the 1987 Rugby World Cup final.

Having previously played alongside him at a charity golf event in Auckland in December 2022, Barrett more recently saw Fox in the flesh during the WM Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 28-year-old Kiwi has visited the golf courses at Portmarnock and Druids Glen since signing for Leinster last December, and — once time allows for it — he will be glued to a TV screen to see how Fox progresses in Augusta.

“I’ll be watching plenty [of the Masters]. We’ve a Friday game, so it’ll free up the weekend. Focus is purely on trying to get a result, beat Glasgow and then sit down and watch some of it. Ryan Fox has his PGA Tour card, and he’s in the Masters again,” Barrett remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD on Monday.

“I’d the opportunity to go to Phoenix about six weeks ago now and walked around the TPC there and followed Ryan Fox for a few days. It’s nice, he’s flying the flag for New Zealand golf at the moment.

“There’s actually a lot of other good New Zealand golfers doing well. So, in some ways, it’s like you guys have Rory [McIlroy], and hopefully, he can have a good one this weekend.”

Despite coming over to these shores with an impressive reputation, Barrett found himself having to settle for a spot amongst the replacements when Leinster comprehensively defeated Harlequins in a Champions Cup Round of 16 encounter in Croke Park last Saturday.

His only previous outing off the bench for Leinster came in his debut against Bristol Bears in the pool stages of Europe at Ashton Gate on 8 December. He went on to start subsequent Champions Cup victories over Clermont Auvergne, La Rochelle and Bath, and will be hoping to be restored to the starting 15 when Glasgow pay a visit to Ballsbridge tomorrow.

Yet, even though he got just 30 minutes of game time in GAA HQ last weekend, Barrett insisted he didn’t find it difficult to miss out on a starting berth.

“It’s certainly not difficult. If I get any opportunity to play, whether it’s starting or on the bench or adding value somewhere else, the game now demands 23 players and the wider squad to prepare them for the weekend. If your job is to come on and change a game, to add some value, or to put a game away, that’s your job for that week.

“If your job is to start, obviously you want to start and play well and put the team in a good position so they can come on and play well. So, I know it sounds very cliché, but it takes 23.

“I had conversations with Leo before even coming over here, the role could change week to week. There are world-class players here, so I’m just hoping I stay fit and healthy, and whatever opportunity I get, I’ll take with two hands.”

Having previously spent the entirety of his playing career in his native New Zealand, Barrett took on a whole new challenge when he joined Leinster on a short-term deal at the tail end of 2024. While he hasn’t been overly surprised by anything he has encountered since signing up with Leo Cullen’s squad, he admitted the move to these shores has taken him out of his comfort zone to a certain extent.

“You don’t know what you don’t know, so you see the European games on telly and the sun’s out. Even the later kick-offs, eight o’clock, there will still be a bit of light this weekend. Only through chatting to people and sharing their experiences from guys that have come up here before, you only really know what it is about,” Barrett added.

“Nothing has taken me by surprise, but I have certainly enjoyed it. It is a great change of scene, and it was important. I think I got myself out of probably a comfort zone. People and coaches and a country you’re familiar with.

“Just test yourself somewhere else, and I guess test yourself when you are uncomfortable. It’s been great, I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s getting to the business end now where we just have to bring our best stuff every single week. It’s so exciting.”

Daire Walsh