Barritt: Bring on the Boks
Brad Barritt may have played for South Africa at age-group level and represented the Emerging Springboks, but now he is proudly English and ready to tackle the Boks.
The 25-year-old Barritt, who was born in Durban and also attended Kearsney College, has had to work hard to prove his detractors wrong.
Now, fitness permitting, Barritt hopes to be on the plane back to his native South Africa for England’s three-Test tour in June and he is relishing another chance to showcase his skills on the big stage.
Barritt, who was first selected to represent the England Saxons at the 2009 Churchill Cup, qualifies to play for England because he holds a UK passport – thanks to Zimbabwean parents, which made him eligible for England as well as South Africa.
While he was called up to the England senior squad for the first time in 2010 to face the New Zealand Maori, he only made his Six Nations debut against Scotland in February this year.
While he had his detractors, Barritt has cemented his spot in the England midfield in his five Test appearances this year – even though he required a total of 21 stitches in his face as a result of his unwavering commitment to England’s Six Nations cause.
He returns to club rugby for the next few weeks, starting when he runs out with Saracens to face Harlequins in a top-of-the-table Premiership match at Wembley this coming Saturday.
But after that he hopes to step back onto the international stage – when England tackle the Boks on June 9 (in his home town of Durban), June 16 (Johannesburg) and June 23 (Port Elizabeth).
“The Six Nations was an amazing experience and the highlight of my rugby career,” he told the Mail Online.
“The way the team came together bodes incredibly well for the future.”
He admitted the battering he took in matches against Scotland (a 13-6 win), Italy (a 19-15 victory), Wales (a 12-19 loss, their only defeat of the Six Nations campaign), France (a 24-22 win) and Ireland (a 30-9 victory) left a few scars.
“The body is a bit sore as a result, but it’s more a case of my face being a little bit battered,” he told the Mail of the 21 stitches.
“I split my chin, which needed nine stitches, and my ear at the top needed another six.
“They split again in the Ireland game. The wound reopened so I had to have them redone.
“There are a few bumps and bruises, but on the whole it’s those sort of battle scars that show a bit of pride.
“You enjoy that waking up the next day when you’ve had a victory.
“From the start of the tournament we prided ourselves on being physical and really taking the game to the opposition.
“If it requires you wearing a couple of stitches then that’s a small price us to pay to experience the hugely proud moment of playing for your country.”
Barritt knows there is a big test looming in June, but he is accustomed to beating the odds.
During his debut season in the 2006 Currie Cup and Super 14 season for the Sharks, Barritt showed great promise as a quality inside centre. Parlaying those performances into his debut Super 14 season in 2006, Barritt rose to prominence as one of South Africa’s leading inside backs, owing in no small part to his tenacity on defence and astute ball distribution skills.
He has the ability to play at flyhalf (although in a rather ad-hoc capacity) and did so to great effect in the 2006 Currie Cup season, when perennially injured provincial teammate Butch James was absent from the squad.
Barritt played for the Sharks in the 2007 Super 14 Final, losing by a solitary point (19-20) to the Bulls.
Barritt signed for the English Premiership side Saracens, and joined them after winning the 2008 Currie Cup competition with the Sharks.
Due to injuries, Barritt was recalled to play in a 2009 Super 14 fixture against the Waratahs, his final game for the Sharks.
