Corrie Barrett laughs when he reveals that he hasn’t quite inherited his dad’s nickname from when he played.
An Instonians hero, Brian Barrett was affectionately known as Tank for his bulldozing style from loosehead prop. Son Corrie, running around the club as a teen learning his trade at tighthead, found himself labelled Mini Tank.
Following in his dad’s footsteps has been an aspiration for Barrett, who has gone the length and breadth of the Earth to try and achieve his rugby dream from being part of Ulster’s sub-Academy to playing club rugby in New Zealand, back to Ulster and then to the English Championship before finally making it with Ulster in the 2024/25 season.
There was even a chance to play alongside his dad once in New Zealand when Brian made a brief trip over to see his son play for Alexandra Rugby Club in Otago.
“It was the last game of the season and dad had come out to visit me during that spell, one of our boys had either been sick or got injured in the warm-up,” explains Barrett.
“I was like, ‘My dad is on the sideline if you really need him’. I was taking the mick, I didn’t think they’d take me upon it. But somebody asked dad and he was like, ‘I’ll play’.
“He got on for maybe 10 to 15 minutes at the end of the game; he played loosehead, I ended up moving to hooker. It was class and definitely a memory I’ll cherish.”
Corrie Barrett is aiming to consolidate his place in the Ulster squad after breaking through
So was his long-awaited Ulster debut back in September when he togged out against the Glasgow Warriors. Having been a part of Ulster’s sub-Academy and been unable to secure a contract at the end of it, followed by a brief return a few years previously that also failed to yield anything further beyond that, it seemed like the door was closed for Barrett with his home province.
Rather than mope, the 26-year-old went to New Zealand on the advice of now-Ulster assistant coach and his former head coach at the time Dan Soper to both get game-time and develop as a person and then, when another short-term deal didn’t work out, he took the plunge and moved to the Championship, first with Bedford Blues and then Doncaster Knights.
“I don’t think there was ever a point in my mind where I thought I’ll give up on this, it was always to come home and play. I always wanted to play for Ulster no matter what in my head, and I think that is what has kind of kept me going the past couple of years,” adds the prop.
“By no means was the Championship easy, there were tough times then with it either being selection or through injury, but I always had to keep it in the back of my mind this was the goal, and that kept driving me on.
“The personal part of me, I just want to push rugby as far as I can go, I don’t want to settle now that I have got to Ulster, I want to keep progressing.
“Obviously, I have got stern competition with Scotty (Wilson) and Tom O’Toole. I want that starting jersey and we’re going to be fighting for it.”
His experiences abroad have made him the person he is right now. In New Zealand, he got the chance to scrummage against current All Blacks loosehead George Bower.
In the All-Ireland League with Ballynahinch and Garryowen, he was given the opportunity to start regularly. In the Championship, he learned how to deal with the challenges of professional life.
Corrie Barrett says his belief never wavered over whether he could make the grade at Ulster
It also made him realise that he wasn’t ready to be an Ulster player when he was in the sub-Academy. The Corrie Barrett back then wasn’t the one on the books now, and he’s delighted to have shown that.
“I’d say probably when I was younger, I’d probably felt I was hard done by but, when I look back now a couple of years older, I knew I wasn’t ready to be there,” he adds.
“I think with going away and playing more rugby, getting stronger, getting fitter and having that exposure when I was out in New Zealand… yes, I was only playing club rugby, but the way their system works, they could drop down the Highlanders that week or you could be playing against ex-All Blacks.
“I think going out there was monumental to my growth as a rugby player and I needed that.
“I did always want to come back. Home is home, I always wanted to come back at some point if there was an opportunity. You are not going to hold a grudge, so when the opportunity came, I just had to grab it.”
Now, he has. Barrett has made eight appearances in the 2024/25 season, including earning two caps in the Champions Cup against Leicester Tigers and Exeter Chiefs.
He’s not happy with just that, though, and the aim is to start racking up a few more appearances in the big games under Richie Murphy.
“The stars aligned, it was a really good opportunity that fell into my hands, and all I could do was take it with both hands and do everything I could to show that I deserved to be here,” smiles Barrett.
“With Tom being away and Scotty being selected for Emerging (Ireland), I had to come in and fill the shoes, but I did a decent enough job that I have been playing a couple more games as well.”