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Ian Foster reminds himself 'just breathe' after another red card
By Ned Lester
The All Blacks claimed a 71-3 win over Namibia but more of a talking point than the scoreline will be the impending disciplinary proceedings for prop Ethan de Groot, who received a red card for a reckless tackle on Namibia’s Adriaan Booysen.
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The tackle came in the 71st minute as Namibia returned a goal-line dropout, the first point of contact was to the head of Booysen, who was subsequently taken from the field with an apparent injury.
The contact then deflected to the shoulder but there was also little evidence of an attempted wrap of the arm. Also of concern was how upright the All Black was in the tackle.
The incident was quickly deemed to meet the yellow card threshold by referee Luke Pearce, who opted for an off-field review to determine the appropriate sanction. The bunker found the play merited a red card.
“I’d guess he’s looking at three weeks,” former Wallaby Sekope Kepu said after the match on Sky Sport.
Kepu noted de Groot’s clean record and the mitigating factor of there being another tackler involved when predicting the length of the ban.
Three weeks would see head coach Ian Foster’s preferred loosehead sidelined in both remaining pool games and a potential quarter-final matchup.
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The All Blacks will not be allowed to replace de Groot regardless of the sanction according to the laws, any potential replacements, like experienced campaigner Joe Moody, may only enter the squad for injury or compassionate reasons.
The prop stocks are already diminished for the All Blacks with starting tighthead Tyrel Lomax out with a deep gash suffered against the Springboks on August 25th.
Lomax’s recovery timeline has not been confirmed, he was back to running but not fully participating at training during the Namibia week. Assuming he’s out for the All Blacks’ next Test against Italy, there will be just four props to be selected in the matchday squad.
Veterans Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tu’ungafasi got the nod in this match and may well be called upon as starters once more while youngsters Fletcher Newell and Tamaiti Williams will also be available.
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New Zealand does have a bye-week in round three, meaning Lomax has two weeks to get back to full health for that next contest.
Following the match, Ian Foster said: “It’s frustrating getting a card.
“We’ll go and have a look at it. Experience has told me to just breathe a bit and have a good look, and there’s a lot of shoulder-on-shoulder and so we’ll have a look at that over the night and just see what happens.”
The coach later added: “We’ll compare it to something else that happened yesterday and see what comes out of that.”
Former All Black Israel Dagg added de Groot would be “absolutely livid with his decision-making”, especially after providing an immediate positive impact off the bench, scoring within a minute of taking the field.
It always felt like the Boks were “the most ill disciplined team” in the past. And they were - no doubt.
Playing in the NH more (as well as Rassies influence) I think has helped them better manage refereeing outcomes.
ABs seem to be there at the moment - and it can be rectified.
But consistency is still lacking!
Poor de Groot, after getting atomized by SA and France he tries to take it out on poor lil Namibia. Turd blossom.
De groot laulala… what shit props and in nz there are better than them.
Thank you to muppet foster for the selection !
I’m taking a breath and reminding myself that Razor is coming soon.
But necessary to clean out the NZRU also
Clearly the worst team all blacks coached by the worst coach in the history. They learn nothing . The ill discipline problems continue for the professional players.
Great all blacks team did not have this ill discipline problems.
This all blacks team will go out in 1/4 for sure .
We are waiting only Razor revolution to rebuild the all blacks machine but it is necessary to clean out all the NZRU clowns and board.they are the responsable of this Foster ‘area disaster !
oh Yes! I believe! Why must it be this way... show me how to breath 🙏
For a side that was so dominant there were a surprising number of penalties. And the card? The All Blacks are by far the leading card holders in first tier rugby. Surely that should be looked at - it's just about a card a game at the moment.
Yes, it has become a card game. Will have massive impact on this world cup.
Yeah, the penalty count was ridic. Bad enough against the leading teams but to concede 12 when you’re playing Namibia and there’s little pressure, that’s pretty bad. It feels like a car crash. The intrigue is not knowing when and in what brutal fashion we’ll get bundled out.
9 reds since the Lions 6 years ago
It is a simple disgrace that professional players do not know the rules, particularly important rules that get you sent off. And, that NZ rugby leadership on and off field allow it to continue.
They average 10 or more penalties a match and now 1 or more cards a match. Ireland are the best at 2 penalties and very few cards.
10 penalties and a card every game is a significant amount of points.
It is clear that if All Blacks are not capable of learning discipline they will exit the cup early.
TMO's and the Bunker, or whatever name they have given to the frustrated and over zealous individuals who upgrade yellows, are making this tournament very difficult to watch.
DeGroot maybe warranted a penalty, nothing more.
De groot penalised vs France and again the same ill discipline problems with him . Stop with this clown. He goes to home . Tamati Williams must have his chance.
Willie the AB's are serial offenders. It is rank bad coaching. They are getting far more cards than any other first tier nation. You can't just keep on saying it's the ref. It is actually the defensive coach.