Brisbane Global Rugby Tens: Berrick Barnes is big in Japan — now he wants to go large in Brisbane

PICKING the winner of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens is a lottery, which is exactly what Berrick Barnes feels he’s won with his new rugby life in Japan.

Henry Speight, Berrick Barnes and Jordan Taufua have their eyes on the Global Tens prize.

PICKING the winner of the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens is a lottery which is exactly what Berrick Barnes feels he’s won with his new rugby life in Japan.

There will be no Super Rugby comeback in Australia for the former Wallaby flyhalf-centre who has been entrenched at the Panasonic Wild Knights for four seasons.

The Reds considered tempting him back for a short-term stint when they went through an injury crisis at No. 10 in 2015 but injury scuttled that.

Guiding Panasonic to last year’s Top League title in Japan, under coach Robbie Deans, earned his Japanese club their invite to the Tens tournament.

Henry Speight, Berrick Barnes and Jordan Taufua have their eyes on the prize.

“I really like the environment up there in Japan and it works really well for my young family,” father-of-two Barnes said.

“It’s relaxed and it’s rugby as it should be.”

Barnes is still only 30 but he knows the limits of his body are different to those of non-stop warrior George Smith, who is on board with the Reds after a full Japanese season with Suntory.

“He’s killing it and just keeps going with back to-back seasons,” Barnes said.

“I can’t do what George does with his body because I need a good pre-season to get it right.”

Upsetting his old NSW Waratahs club, the Chiefs or the Melbourne Rebels will be tough in pool play but he’s eager to push through a knee niggle to try.

“We’ve just come from minus two degrees in Japan but I reckon the heat is going to affect everyone,” Barnes said.

“We’re not going to overpower any team but we’ll try to run them around a bit.”

The Samoans are a potential surprise packet, French giants Toulon will struggle with a limited roster of just 18 players and the fast, skilful Kiwi sides just seem made for Tens.

The Reds have the advantage of having trained in this heatwave for weeks plus the potential for winger Eto Nabuli and young prop Taniela Tupou to be game-breakers.

Most clubs have spent just one or two sessions organising some Tens ploys so Saturday’s results are a real toss-up until styles are refined.

A crowd of nearly 30,000 is expected to enjoy this exciting leap into the unknown with pacy 10-a-side play for 14 top teams.

There is a sub-plot. With the NRL Auckland Nines coming to the end of their run in New Zealand’s biggest city, there will be dots connected to a possible switch to Brisbane in perhaps 2019.

Whether a straight swap of the Tens to Auckland work with rugby league’s Nines to Suncorp Stadium is an intriguing boardroom discussion for the future.

It’s up to Brisbane and the fans to make the Global Tens a hit to cement the concept here first.

Originally published as Brisbane Global Rugby Tens: Berrick Barnes is big in Japan — now he wants to go large in Brisbane