With these All Blacks it's about coaching and leadership, plain and simple
Hubris is at the heart of the issue here.
Not Ian Foster’s, necessarily, although find me a coach that doesn’t believe they have the answers to everything.
No, we have a nation and an All Blacks team being held to ransom by the arrogance of New Zealand Rugby (NZR).
Let’s be honest here.
Foster was never the right man to be All Blacks coach and, were the game under better management, he would’ve been gone at the end of either of the team’s 2020 or 2021 campaigns.
Look, journalism is about snap judgements. It’s about meeting people, sizing them up, chatting away and then reaching conclusions.
If journalists are qualified in anything, it’s that.
We talk to good people, bad people, smart people and dim people and we realise very quickly who’s who.
Who among us then, be they media, fans or only occasional watchers of rugby, has ever been captivated by Ian Foster? Who’s been dazzled by his brilliance and charisma? Who’s been struck by the man’s acumen and authority?
People will say that Foster is potentially a good coach and that, just because he doesn’t have a great public persona, doesn’t mean he’s not good at his job.
And I’d counter with Ireland’s 2-1 series win on these shores and various All Blacks defeats overseas.
Do you, in your heart of hearts, believe Ireland’s players are better than ours? Do you?
There’s no doubt they’re better coached, more united and more successful right now. But are they actually better?
Man for man, most of us would agree the All Blacks have more talent.
So it’s about coaching and leadership, plain and simple.
Or, more to the point, the absence of both.
If NZR were leaders, they’d have led by now. They’d have accepted their appointment error and moved on.
Instead, and this is where the hubris comes in, they’re too proud to admit their fault.
Imagine that? Imagine being so tied to the belief in your own infallibility, that you’d rather lose test matches than admit you got it wrong.
Well, I’d wager the losses being piled up by this coaching regime is doing more damage to the All Blacks’ brand than any admission of failure ever could.
It’s obscene that journalists were prevented from asking Foster about his future, following Saturday’s 32-22 defeat to Ireland. It’s shameful that there was no Sunday morning press briefing, as has always been the custom. It’s pathetic that the best we got instead was an inadequate press release quoting NZR chief executive Mark Robinson.
He and Foster should be fronting the public. They should be taking hard questions and asserting their leadership credentials.
And, if they’re not prepared to do that, then they should go.
I hear Foster talk endlessly of lessons and markers. Of sobering realisations about the standards the once mighty All Blacks have to aspire to.
And then I sit and cringe at the ineptitude of performances, such as Saturday night’s.
Well, have your thorough review of the Ireland series, NZR. Sit down with old mate Fozzie and develop support structures and strategies to better-equip the team for success.
Send out the subsequent press release, stating your full confidence in the coaching staff and excitement at the challenges ahead.
Just don’t be surprised when that fails to stem the tide of public disquiet.
Everyone wants to support the team. They love the players and the jersey and they revel in the status the All Blacks have afforded New Zealand on the world stage.
But people are hurt right now. They’re disillusioned and disappointed and they believe a change in coach could fix that.
But they also know it’s not in NZR’s nature to admit when they’re wrong and, for that reason, they’re about ready to give up on this team while things remain the same.
Comments on RugbyPass
Havili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
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