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Ian Foster explains the minimal changes to the All Blacks set-up
While there were never any expectations that Ian Foster would make wholesale changes to the All Blacks for this weekend’s rematch with Australia, the minimal amendments to the matchday squad for the second Bledisloe Cup clash may have raised a few eyebrows.
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The All Blacks have just made one personnel change to the starting lineup for the opening game of the Rugby Championship, bringing in Will Jordan for the crook Anton Lienert-Brown.
Lienert-Brown’s knee injury, suffered in the latter stages of last weekend’s 33-25 win, see Rieko Ioane shift from the left wing to centre, Sevu Reece swap from the right wing to the left, and Jordan take Reece’s spot in the No 14 jersey.
Had Lienert-Brown been fit, however, it’s likely we wouldn’t have seen any changes to the starting lineup at all.
“It’s a slight medial strain,” Foster explained following the team announcement. “Happened near the end of the game. It didn’t seem that bad but Sunday, Monday, it really showed itself. Pretty minor.
“I’m delighted with Rieko at the moment. It forced our hand with the change. It’s fair to say we were pretty happy to put Anton out there again and to keep that combination going after last week but these things happen. But Rieko’s in a great spot.”
Foster also highlighted Jordan’s competent performance in the black jersey this year, with the 23-year-old scoring tries in all three matches of the July series, including five against Tonga.
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“He’s trained well, he had a very good July series and he was hampered with injuries last year so he didn’t really get a lot of opportunity last year but had a strong season so far,” Foster said. “This is a big test but he’s ready. He’s confident and we really just want him to run fast, tackle well.”
As evident with the team that will run out onto Eden Park on Saturday, consistency is the name of the game for Foster at this relatively early stage of the season.
“We need growth and I think the best way to get growth at this stage of the season is to keep developing the combinations,” said Foster. “There was a lot of lessons got from last week and whilst there’s a lot been said about the things that didn’t go well, there were a lot of things that did go well and we’ve got to make sure we enhance those opportunities again.
“We’ve gone with continuity of performance [to] put pressure on this group to respond and give us more of a complete performance by having gone through and done some good things, but also we’ve learnt a bit through it. [I’m] a bit of a believer in that and I think it’s the right thing for this team right now.”
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The big winger is back on deck – but can he make a difference? #NZLvAUS #Wallabieshttps://t.co/yxB3Uj0Fyb
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There are, however, a few changes to the reserves.
Samisoni Taukei’aho, who wasn’t named in the initial All Blacks squad for the July tests but joined late in the piece as an injury replacement, will wear the No 16 jersey this week.
Taukei’aho was brought in at the eleventh hour for last weekend’s match after the more experienced Dane Coles was a late scratching and Foster confirmed on Thursday that the 34-year-old old won’t be back on deck anytime soon.
“He’s again [got a] calf strain,” said Foster, alluding to the many troubles Coles had had to contend with in the past. “It’s actually a different calf strain than he’s had before so we’re probably looking at a four to six week period for that as well.”
TJ Perenara will also take the field for the first time this year, having spent the first half of the season in Japan, while Scott Barrett has been reinstated onto the bench after being a late scratching on game day last weekend, with his spot being filled by Patrick Tuipulotu.
“We’ve brought Scooter back off the bench. He was a late withdrawal so I guess there was a bit of a one game each for him and Patty but he’ll bring a lot of experience too in that role,” Foster said.
“But we need to go forward. We’re going to get a more committed Australian team and we need to make sure we’re matching fire with fire.”
Foster expects the Wallabies to bring even greater aggression this weekend but the All Blacks coach is confident his charges have what it takes to score a second win on the trot and secure the Bledisloe Cup for another season – as well as getting the Rugby Championship campaign off to a solid start. However much pressure there might be on the All Blacks, the Wallabies will also be feeling the burn, said Foster.
“Clearly I think they’re going to go out and try be more aggressive. That seems to be the word that we’re hearing. They’ve said that they want to take us on a bit more so that’s the response we’d expect out of them and pretty intrigued that they’re trying to pile pressure on us.
“But it’s a Bledisloe Cup series, they’re one-nil down, I’m pretty sure there’s a bit of pressure on them too. We want to win it.”
Saturday’s match kicks off at 7:05pm NZT from Eden Park in Auckland.
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments