Beauden Barrett

Hot on the heels of their upset win over his former team, the All Blacks star has joined his new Super Rugby side on the training paddock for the first time this week.

The return of the Blues' marquee signing and former Hurricanes No 10 from an extended break has arrived slightly earlier than some expected.

As much as he relished his post-Rugby World Cup holiday, Barrett said there was a clear moment when his mindset shifted.

"It was a really good break, until Super Rugby kicked off in round one and then my feet started to get itchy.

 Barrett, who ditched the Hurricanes for the Blues for this season, is yet to pull on his boots in a competitive match in 2020.

His first match in five months will be for Coastal Rugby Club in Taranaki, when they take on Southern at Rahotu.

"We're playing Southern, which is a big derby match for us, so it always draws a large crowd," Coastal's chairwoman Janet Fleming told Newshub.

"Having Beauden playing in it is likely to pack the ground out completely."

Barrett was at Blues training Wednesday to meet several of his new teamates after his shift from the Hurricanes.

He made a brief appearance at pre-season training but has been taking and extended break from the game in the wake of the World Cup.

"He's in today to have a look around and see how we are going. We can check on him and see how he's going so it's good to have him back around," said assistant coach Tom Coventry.

Coach Leon MacDonald told reporters in Auckland on Friday that Barrett had attended some training sessions with his new team mates but was not expected "on the grass" until mid-April.

Barrett signed a four-year contract with the Blues in July, ending an eight-year association with the Hurricanes. The contract allowed him the extended break ahead of the 2020 season and also the option to pursue a short-term deal in Japan.

He could make his debut for the Blues in Week 11 of the competition, when they face the Hurricanes on April 11.

A South African supporter spotted All Blacks fullback Barrett nudging the ball with his foot while referee Nic Berry had his back turned during the 16-all draw in the Cake Tin last weekend, and posted TV footage of the incident on social media.

Feedback from fans online didn't lack heat.

Barrett – a two-time World Rugby Player of the Year – has penned a four-year contract to keep him in New Zealand through to the end of the 2023 World Cup.

But the 28-year-old and 73-cap New Zealand international will represent the Blues at club level from 2020, leaving Super Rugby rivals the Hurricanes, where he broke through in 2011.

The complex new contract will see first five-eighth Barrett join the Blues midway through the 2020 season, however, as he takes an extended break from rugby at the end of this year.

Pieter van der Spuy spotted the All Blacks star stealing metres behind the referee's back prior to his one successful penalty kick in the team's 16-16 draw with the Springboks on Saturday.

All Blacks captain Kieran Read opted for a shot at the posts when referee Nic Berry awarded New Zealand a penalty near the 22m line in the 48th minute of the match. But, as van der Spuy pointed out when he posted the video on Twitter, Barrett rolled the ball approximately four metres closer to the posts when Berry's back was turned.

Crusaders first-five Mo'unga got the nod at 10, while Hurricanes first-five Barrett starts at fullback for the Rugby Championship match at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday night.

Only Barrett, Ben Smith and Brodie Retallick have been retained in the starting XV which beat Argentina in Buenos Aires last weekend.

Smith moves to right wing to accommodate Barrett's switch to 15, while Retallick starts alongside Sam Whitelock at lock.

Denied a head-to-head clash between the All Blacks' pivots in round two in Christchurch because Barrett wasn't back from an extended break, Crusaders first-five Mo'unga and his Hurricanes counterpart will line up opposite one another in Wellington on Friday night. 

The last time they clashed - during last year's semifinal in Christchurch - Mo'unga outplayed Barrett in a 30-12 win, the second time he did so during the red and blacks' march to a ninth Super Rugby title. 

Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Ngani Laumape and Vaea Fifita will all take their place in the run-on team at CET Arena in Palmerston North on Friday night.

Barrett and Savea were on All Blacks leave/rest during last weekend's 38-22 loss to the Crusaders, Perenara and Laumape came off the bench, while Fifita played 50 minutes for the development team on his way back to fitness after a hamstring injury.

The Hurricanes have added 182 All Blacks caps to their starting XV to take on the Brumbies.