『 I would love to come back sometime soon 』

On the day that Beauden Barrett said goodbye to the members of Sungoliath team at the clubhouse, he also gave a message to the fans. As usual, Barrett was happy and smiling. （Interview Date : Late May, 2021）

I am quite sad to be leaving to be honest. It's hard to to say good-bye to this team only after one season. But I have really enjoyed my season and time here. The people at this club, including fans make Suntory Sungoliath so great. I have certainly made many good friends. Once again when they come to New Zealand, they are more than welcome to stay at my house in Auckland anytime.

Although I am leaving this team, I believe that Suntory Sungoliath will definitely be a greater team in the next season. We have a lot of good players, and good coaches and staff. They are very motivated to work hard, and I think they will prepare well for the next season to get one better. I think the team will be in a good position to win the championship next year like I said there are too many good players.

I would like to come back to Suntory. It's hard to say when, but Sungoliath is a special club and like I said the people and staff are what make the club so great. I would love to come back sometime soon. At the Japan Rugby Top League Awards 2021, there was a talk of bringing my brothers to Japan when I come back to play next time. I would be very happy if that really happens, and when the time is right, I would be recommending this club to my brothers. I have just finished my season with Suntory so at this stage my aim is to go back to New Zealand and wear the black jersey again.

We really value the support of the fans. For the fans, the past two seasons must have been really difficult from the players' point of view, as there were many restrictions due to Corona. I am grateful for the support I received throughout this season and being able to play the games surrounded by yellow jerseys and seeing the smiling faces really helped me and motivated me to perform better. Thank you very much.

(Interview & Structure: Kazuyoshi Hariya /Translator: Yuji Yamaguchi /Editing: Yutaro Igarashi)
[Photo: Aki Nagao]