Suspicion still exists that the wrong man was given charge of the All Blacks
Ian Foster must be cursing COVID-19.
In case you missed it, Foster was a very unpopular choice as All Blacks head coach. So unpopular that, if you believe a recent player poll, even they aren’t too enthused about him or his staff.
In an ideal world, Foster would be three tests into his tenure by now. Three tests – two against Wales and one against Scotland – that you assume would have provided him with a winning start to life in charge.
Instead the tentative opening of the test rugby window is scheduled for October 24, with preliminary plans in place for New Zealand to host the entire Rugby Championship during November and December.
None of that’s over the line, of course, meaning no one’s really had a chance to come to terms with the fact Foster really is the All Blacks’ coach.
Even all these months on, it seems hard to comprehend that New Zealand Rugby (NZR) could actually appoint the guy.
Surely this is the most sought-after job in world rugby and one fit for only the finest applicants. With all due respect to Foster, it’s still hard not to feel there were better options out there.
The suspension of test rugby hasn’t helped him, though.
It was only the other week when former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was quoted on a variety of issues, including the state of Australian rugby. Scribes everywhere leapt upon those comments and there were the inevitable long bows drawn suggesting New Zealand rugby folk are insufferably smug and arrogant.
Overlooked in all that was Foster. Perhaps emboldened by the words of his old boss, he piped up too. Difference was no one really took umbrage.
The issue there is one of standing. Hansen has plenty and Foster very little and that won’t change until he can coax two or three years worth of emphatic performances from the men in the black.
In the meantime, though, the man is scarcely relevant.
Again, the cancellation of this month’s tests against Wales and Scotland hasn’t helped.
In the absence of test footy, Super Rugby Aotearoa has further underlined what a fine job Scott Robertson does as coach of the Crusaders.
Rain, hail or shine, the players in that team continually produce performances their fans can be proud of. Most of the time those performances translate into wins too.
A story surfaced recently suggesting Robertson rather baffled the panel trying to pick between he and Foster for the All Blacks’ coaching job last year.
First of all, many people end up confused after talking to Robertson. Whether by accident or design, the man isn’t the easiest to get a straight answer from.
But the Crusaders’ players seem to understand him all right and surely they’re the only people that matter.
More important, though, is this idea that presentations to panels matter. That a coach should be judged not on his record, but on the way he interviews for a job.
Robertson didn’t inherit a Crusaders franchise in rude health. There’d been a gradual decline under Todd Blackadder, so the results in the three and a bit years since speak volumes for Robertson and his methods.
Players and coaches have come and gone, but the outcomes have always stayed the same.
That’s the difficulty for Foster. People think Robertson is a good coach because that belief is borne out in the Crusaders’ results week after week, year after year.
Foster hasn’t been afforded that luxury yet, that chance to prove there was more to his appointment than cronyism and succession planning. That he can emerge from Hansen’s shadow and show us all he’s worthy of the role he inherited.
Unfortunately, the longer it takes to get test rugby back on the schedule, the longer the suspicion will persist that the wrong man was given charge of the All Blacks.
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to comments