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Ian Foster hits back: 'Those headlines came out without any facts behind it'
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has hit out at reports suggesting several players are considering pulling out of this year’s Rugby Championship for family reasons.
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Reports emerged yesterday that a group of key All Blacks players told New Zealand Rugby that they don’t want to leave their families for up to 10 weeks to play in the competition, which could include spending Christmas in quarantine.
Among the players named were first-fives Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett, halfback TJ Perenara and winger Sevu Reece.
Both Mo’unga and Perenara recently had newborn babies, while Barrett and Reece are also expecting their first children.
The reports came after Sanzaar announced that Australia will host the Rugby Championship in November and December, with the All Blacks due to play the Wallabies in two Bledisloe Cup tests in New Zealand in October.
While dates for the Rugby Championship haven’t been confirmed, reports suggest All Blacks players could be forced to spend Christmas in quarantine due to New Zealand’s 14-day quarantine rules.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB, Foster denied claims that some of his players were set to skip the four-team competition – although he did admit discussions were being held with players about the issue.
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“I read that report yesterday and it was pretty frustrating that those headlines came out without any facts behind it,” Foster said. “Are we in trouble? No, we’re not in trouble. Are we having conversations with players? Of course we are.
“We’re trying to be responsible employers and talk to a whole lot of players. This is all new to everyone, taking players away for nine weeks where you can’t get back and it’s becoming increasingly obvious it’s going to be hard to bring players over later.
“So it’s a big chunk of time and we’re just working in through with players.”
Foster said he had spoken to the players named in the reports and insisted it wasn’t true.
“I’ve had no player at all, and I’ve spoken to the players who were noted in the articles. I’ve spoken to all those players and I haven’t heard anything like what has been reported. Right now, people just want to know what the facts are and we’re gathering them up at the moment.”
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that the New Zealand Government will change quarantine rules to allow the Wallabies more time to prepare for the Bledisloe Cup in New Zealand.
Ardern said the director general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, had advised that the Wallabies would now be able to start training after three days and as a full squad after six days, with previous protocols restricting the team to training in limited bubbles.
The Prime Minister also said she spoke to her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison last night to ensure the two Bledisloe Cup tests would go ahead, following claims from Wallabies coach Dave Rennie that the team may boycott the first test if they weren’t allowed enough time to prepare.
Foster said he was “thrilled” with the change in quarantine rules to allow the Bledisloe tests to go ahead.
“Very thrilled with that even though we’re bitterly disappointed we’re losing the Rugby Championship but we’re finished sulking about that,” Foster said. “We’re looking forward to it and now can’t wait to sort out these Bleds. A little bit of water to go under the bridge but today’s news is positive.”
Foster also responded to Rennie’s threat to skip the first test altogether, saying there’s now no excuses for Australia not to play both tests.
“He’s come out strong based on information about the quarantine. We listened to that. But at the same time we were busy talking hard with the Government about relaxing it.
“Now I think we’ve achieved that, when you look an equitable situation which is about giving two teams a fair chance at preparing. To basically have 13 free days to prepare for a test match, in an international sports world is huge.
“Really, I don’t think there’s any excuse for them not to come over and play in that weekend.”
Such a shame for the Brave Blossoms. https://t.co/hfgMQDWQtY
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 14, 2020
New Zealand was confirmed to host two Bledisloe Cup tests after missing out on the hosting rights for the Rugby Championship due to restrictive quarantine protocols.
Foster admitted losing the Rugby Championship hosting rights to Australia was disappointing but refused to say New Zealand “blew it”.
“I wouldn’t say we blew it. It looks like it because we had it and then it went. While it’s frustrating, we’re fully aware there are a whole lot of variables in play and quite frankly life hasn’t been fair this year for too many people and we’ve just got to take that one on the chin.
“What we do need to do is make sure we do these two Bledisloes and in a fair way. I think what’s happened now with the quarantine has basically put us in a situation where we can offer the Aussies nine full days in quarantine preparing, four full days once they are out, which is about 13 days by my maths.
“When you look at our preparation for the first Bled, we’ve got a three-day camp, a four-day camp and a six-day lead-in – so we’ve got 13 days. Really can’t see any reason we can’t be playing on that weekend.”
No official dates have been confirmed for the Bledisloe Cup tests yet.
Comments on RugbyPass
Will rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to comments