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Ian Foster's 'simple' theory for the All Blacks' World Cup squad

By Ben Smith
(Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has offered his thoughts on Rugby World Cup squads which are set to expand to 33 from 31 players for this year’s tournament in France.

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The expanded squad size increases the odds of a bolter selection and also reduces the chances of a big name omission.

The All Blacks from 2011 and 2015 had notable omissions from both squads, with Ben Smith, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Liam Messam, and Wyatt Crockett all missing out on the first of back-to-back World Cup wins.

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Key contributors from the 2011 World Cup-winning team Aaron Cruden, Cory Jane and Israel Dagg all missed the cut in 2015, along with Lima Sopoaga and Charles Piutau.

In 2019 Owen Franks was a big omission, along with barnstorming midfielder Ngani Laumape.

Foster shared some logic as to how the All Blacks may use the 33 selections later this year.

“I forget what 2015 was, I know 2019 was one more and know we’ve got one more again [in 2023],” Foster told Jason Pine’s Newstalk ZB show.

“If you look at it with simplicity, you’ve got two lots of 15, two teams, and then three extras.

“Potentially a third hooker, a third No 9, and a third 10, some of your specialist positions.

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“That’s the simplicity of the logic.”

In 2019 with just 31 selections the All Blacks took three hookers, three halfbacks and two first fives to Japan for the World Cup, skimping on other positions like blindside flanker where they did not take a specialist.

This time around they will have the luxury of not having to cut back in other position groups to bolster the spine positions.

Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard has been a popular selection as a World Cup bolter candidate with regular starter and All Black TJ Perenara recovering from his Achilles injury.

The other halfback stocks include Aaron Smith, Folau Fakatava, Finlay Christie and Brad Weber for a total of six options including Roigard for Foster’s staff.

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At hooker the All Blacks have Samisoni Taukei’aho, Codie Taylor and Dane Coles while the in-form Asafo Aumua is potentially in line to earn an All Black recall.

The first five positional group has Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga, assumed to be guaranteed picks if healthy, with Damian McKenzie and Stephen Perofeta fighting it out to be the third option, although whoever misses out might also be selected as fullback cover.

Foster highlighted the versatility in the backline as a key strength which will enable the selectors to maneuverer the squad in other areas.

“But we’ve got a lot of versatility in our group, particularly the backs,” he explained.

“And quite a bit of versatility in our locks and loose forward types.

“We’re having some good debates about the make-up of our group already.

“We’ve got the Rugby Championship where we will be picking 36 to keep the door open for people as well.

“The lion’s share of our group is pretty clear but we want to keep an open mind right to the very end.

“We’ve got an opportunity in the Rugby Championship and we’ve also got a New Zealand A team playing two games against Japan to trial a couple things.”

On whether there would be a World Cup bolter such as Cam Roigard or Shaun Stevenson, who have been the in-form players in Super Rugby Pacific, Foster remained coy on the subject.

“I don’t know, it wouldn’t be a bolter if I told you, would it?” he joked.

“It is one of those questions I’m not allowed to answer, the way you’ve framed it. Who knows?

“If you look at the bigger picture, we’ve already scratched… you look at Sevu Reece’s injury, George Bower’s injury.

“Part of this year is looking at all the contingency plans, making sure we’ve got our depth options very clear.

“Due to the size of squads we’ve had in recent years, with travel and Covid, the odds of having someone who hasn’t played for us already aren’t that great, but you never know.

“Let’s just keep excited about it a little bit longer.”

 

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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