Robertson's shadow looms over Foster after getting bullied by Fiji
Unfortunately it’s not just Grant Fox looming over Ian Foster’s shoulder.
Seriously, if there was anything to take from the All Blacks’ first test of the season, it was how hard it must be for the coaches to do their job with Fox hovering behind them.
Never mind that the All Blacks were winning by one hundred points, national-selector Fox looked like he could combust at any moment.
A week on, it’s not Fox casting the biggest shadow over Foster, but the re-signed Scott Robertson.
It would take a brave person to suggest New Zealand is bereft of rugby talent. You’ll get the odd British pundit who seeks to generate clicks by saying the All Blacks are soft or over-rated, but no sane person takes that stuff too seriously.
In saying that, Foster’s All Blacks have been unconvincing and inconsistent.
People can prattle on all they like about Covid-19 and the challenges it created for Foster and the All Blacks’ coaching staff, but losing to Australia and Argentina last year was unforgivable.
Yes, the team retained the Bledisloe Cup and sure they were crowned Tri-Nations champions, but so they should have. Those achievements are the bare minimum fans should expect from the side, rather than the endorsement of Foster that some have painted them as.
Steve Hansen, Foster’s predecessor and friend, was the latest to say so, going on to claim it was “stupid’’ that New Zealand Rugby (NZR) hadn’t already appointed Foster through until the end of this Rugby World Cup cycle.
Well, with the greatest respect, NZR would be daft to do so, with Saturday’s underwhelming 57-23 win over Fiji being the most recent example why.
For those of us desperate for a contest, after the appalling spectacle of the previous week’s 102-0 defeat of Tonga, it was heartening to see Fiji’s forwards shunt the All Blacks around. For Foster and his staff, though, that should’ve been frightening.
Fiji are many things, but being renowned for their driving and mauling has rarely been one of them.
You assume their forwards won’t be so formidable when the teams meet again this weekend and that the All Blacks will win by plenty. Heaven help Foster if they don’t, because NZR have just sewn up the obvious head-coaching alternative.
There’s little point debating whether favouring continuity over sustained excellence was the right call for Hansen’s succession. The fact is they hired Foster to be head coach – on the strength of his stint as Hansen’s understudy – instead of rewarding Robertson for his incredible title-winning success at all levels of the game.
Hansen argued over recent days that the All Blacks need certainty. That they need to know Foster will coach them at the 2023 world cup and that the team will immediately play outstanding rugby as a result.
Well, it’s actually only Foster that needs that certainty and – thankfully – NZR have recognised that he’s done nothing to deserve it just yet.
With every match these All Blacks play, Robertson looks better equipped for the job. The more the All Blacks look rattled or ill-prepared for what the opposition confront them with, the more people question Foster’s suitability.
I’ve written here before that the All Blacks ought to go through 2021 unbeaten. There are some reasonable teams on their schedule, but none who are demonstrably better.
But then these are the same blokes who got beaten by the Wallabies and Pumas a few months ago and were then pushed around by Fiji at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Given a repeat of those kinds of performances, Robertson won’t be forced into triggering the exit-clause in his new NZR contract.
It’s very easy to have a go at NZR. I mean, in absolute fairness to them, they don’t even make it hard. Time and again the national body do things that defy logic, but not in this instance.
The re-signing of Roberston, though to the end of 2024, was encouragingly strategic.
No-one wants the All Blacks to continue to underwhelm and no-one wants to see them lose two or three times this season. But, in case they do and in case the decision is taken not to extend Foster’s contract when it expires this year, a credible alternative is ready, willing and very able.
It’s easy to underestimate Robertson or to be distracted by his eccentricities. But the bottom line is his teams win – and win well – and that’s never been something you’d say about a Foster-coached side.
The more mediocre teams such as Fiji bully or even embarrass the All Blacks, the more Robertson’s shadow looms over this coaching staff.
Comments on RugbyPass
This is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsI 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.
7 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.
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