All Blacks coach Ian Foster on going ‘full throttle’ for Springboks Test

Coach Ian Foster has explained the All Blacks’ decision to go “full throttle” for Friday night’s Test with the World Champion Springboks, with selectors picking a near full-strength side.

With just 80 minutes of Test rugby to play until their Rugby World Cup opener against hosts France next month, the All Blacks have named a familiar-looking lineup.

New Zealand have made three changes to the starting side that put on a show against the Springboks in Auckland last month, and they’re all in the forwards.

Veterans Dane Coles and Sam Whitelock will start against the Boks, and so will blindside flanker Luke Jacobson. The backline, which includes Will Jordan on the right wing, is the same.

The All Blacks have decided not to wrap any players in cotton wool, with coach Foster insisting they had to approach this Test properly before the World Cup.

“That’s your opinion, (saying it’s) the first choice,” Foster told reporters in London on Wednesday.

“We took some guys out of the Dunedin Test and it’s important that, we think the gap between the last Test and the France was too big.

“Clearly we’ve got two or three players that we’re looking after from an injury perspective but the rest of it, it’s a great Test match two weeks before a World Cup.

“The only way to go into this is full throttle.”

The All Blacks have matched the Springboks energy and enthusiasm for this clash – which isn’t a surprise, really – with the defending World Cup winners picking a ferocious side.

But the New Zealanders will be full of confidence, and rightly so. The All Blacks secured The Rugby Championship with big wins over Argentina, South Africa and Australia.

The All Blacks also retained the Freedom Cup and Bledisloe Cup, and go into this warm-up Test on the back of four wins from as many starts.

With the All Blacks’ convincing 35-20 win at Mt Smart Stadium still fresh in the minds of rugby fans, this Test on the hallowed of Twickenham gives both teams a chance to make one final statement going into the World Cup.

“I think performance is always key. It’s always the thing that we’re chasing, and when you get the combination of both you’re pretty happy,” Foster added.

“We’ve started well this year, we know we’ve got to build, we know the intensity is only going to get higher, and this is a great way to test ourselves.

“Rather than having game that potentially didn’t have the same edge to it and meant the buildup would be different, the buildup is great for this because we know we have to match the intensity of the South African team.

“We have to turn up and get ready so that’s what we want.”

The All Blacks have made a series of surprising selections on the bench though, with coach Foster going with a 6-2 split to take on the Boks.

Halfback Cam Roigard and midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown are the only options off the pine in the backline.

But Foster made this decision with the forwards in mind.

“That’s effectively a squad management technique for this game.

“Clearly with Brodie Retallick out at the moment, and with Shannon Frizzel in the same boat – they’re both actually progressing really well by the way, a little bit ahead of schedule which is pleasing.

“We really want to manage our locking stocks so we’re taking advantage of utilizing Josh Lord while he’s over here and (that’ll) give us a good chance to manage the time that Scott and Sam have.”