Endless drum beating against Ian Foster is unfair and tiresome
It was always inevitable that the drum beating would restart the second Scott Robertson re-signed with NZR.
Ian Foster, the current All Blacks coach don’t forget, would do well to keep his attention firmly away from some of the headlines this week, and probably for several weeks to come.
They haven’t been pretty, terribly surprising, or anything particularly new and original for that matter.
A certain type of boring narrative has emerged in the past year – Foster isn’t the man for the top job at the mighty All Blacks it’s claimed.
Two losses weren’t the igniter but actually the gas can over a fire already burning. Critics always felt frustrated in the appointment of Foster because it was unsurprisingly the safer bet taken by the traditionally conservative NZR rather than the proactive one they wanted.
To them, Foster represented the same old thing, a Steve Hansen 2.0 if you will.
If you were to gauge the majority of feedback from the rugby public, those paying men and women who keep the whole thing afloat, they’d present a similar sense of acceptance that Foster wasn’t the biggest drawcard of the bunch, but probably the most logical one because he’d been a large part of the existing system.
Much of the narrative surrounding Scott Robertson is that he can apparently do no wrong. His record coaching the Crusaders is immensely impressive, easily the best in modern history.
He’s also a fairly popular guy to work with for a few of the journalists, never being shy of an opinion or two is always welcome.
According to several sources I’ve spoken to, some on the record and others off, Foster always wanted to run a very tight ship when he became the All Blacks coach. That suited NZR to a tee and carried on a tradition within the team itself, a tradition many argue has become stale.
I’m also told that Foster wanted to make the All Blacks a more welcoming internal environment for new players. That as much has been evident in some of the selections we’ve seen thus far.
Take Ethan de Groot as a good example of that. Here’s a propping prospect nowhere near ready for international rugby but was given a start to debut his test career.
Catch him live, in normal speed ?
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 16, 2021
Sadly, none of those very brave selections and the stories that would be far more invigorating for the fans to read seem to matter, especially to those harshest of critics who’ve not missed an opportunity to consistently put the boot in.
Did they also admit that Foster decided very early on in the piece that he wouldn’t be playing favourites in the media nearly to the same degree that his predecessor did?
Maybe that has something to do with the hostility. But I digress. Let’s talk about what really matters here.
Modern sport, particularly at the level of the All Blacks, hangs heavily on results. Where talk of this current stable of men in the black jersey continues always seems to find its way back to the losses in 2020.
Two losses, including the shocker against the Pumas, and a draw on home soil will likely continue to be the black mark against Foster’s name that his critics use to justify someone else as the rightful, deserved coach.
That’s a fair criticism in part, particularly if we are talking about the loss to Argentina when the mid-week preparation clearly wasn’t up to snuff.
Last weekend’s feeble physical showing against an inspired Fiji also did its part added to the noise, to the point now where it should now be inarguable.
Foster, these critics argue, needs to be shown the door immediately and Robertson ushered in as quickly as possible. While they’re at it, they’d also argue throwing Clayton McMillan into an assistant coach role, and heck, probably Jason Ryan as well.
This isn’t about Foster actually being the wrong man to coach the All Blacks. This is about the fact that he was never going to be accepted by many of the critics who used the 2019 World Cup loss to England as perfect fuel for across-the-board change.
It’s certainly been an impressive ride for Robertson in Crusader country, but it’s pure assumption that he’d do any better a job at the helm of the All Blacks.
With Sam Cane set to spend plenty of time on the sidelines, Ardie Savea needs to make a statement ?? @TomVinicombe ?? https://t.co/mAE0eCzOLT pic.twitter.com/w6nSFYVhHE
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) July 16, 2021
Look at the strides Argentina made last season and in previous seasons before that, look the not so small splash Japan is continuing to make on the international scene, and while you’re at it, look at what Fiji managed to conjure up last weekend.
There is no logic to the argument that it will be a catastrophic failure and a further black mark against Foster’s name if the All Blacks don’t go through to the next World Cup in 2023 unbeaten.
There’s a lot of logic in expecting the exact opposite to occur.
The rest of the rugby world is catching up to the All Blacks in more ways than many realise. That’s why it came as such a shock to some of these same pundits that the All Blacks crashed out of the last World Cup in the fashion they did, that’s why you’ve seen some of the results since.
Former and current All Blacks players and coaches will continue plying their trade in Europe and Japan. Some of the current star All Blacks in this particular side could well be playing in the new professional Japanese league next year, we’re stupid if we don’t think they’re all taking a lot of the existing playbook with them.
Scott Robertson coaching the All Blacks doesn’t halt any of that momentum, all it does is make critics of the current regime feel better about their particular argument when the actual product under Foster is far from finished on the field.
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments