Jordan set to miss first two Irish tests
Super Rugby,’’ Cane said. ‘‘We’ve just been rolling with the punches. Obviously it’s not ideal, but in terms of disruption, surprisingly there hasn’t been too much at all.
‘‘The coaches are stepping up, and we’ve got a really experienced leadership group now – one I trust immensely.
‘‘How lucky are we to be able to call on someone like Joe Schmidt? He’s been awesome.’’
Head coach Foster summoned Schmidt, who will step in to replace Grant Fox as a selector for the Rugby Championship, to help out the remaining coaches, led by Greg Feek and Brad Mooar, this week.
‘‘He’s only just come in this morning [yesterday], and will only be in Tuesday and Thursday to help out on the training park,’’ said Cane. ‘‘He’s helping with defence predominantly, but it’s nice to have some wise eyes looking over things.’’
When questioned about whether he had been privy to those supposed insights Schmidt might offer on the Ireland team, Cane replied: ‘‘Not that I know of.
‘‘He was predominantly helping out the backs ... I haven’t actually worked with him on the training park. We’ve got our structures that [defence coach] Scott Mcleod has set up. I can’t imagine Joe is going come in and change anything about that.
‘‘He’s about lending another pair of eyes, chipping in and being able to coach on the run at training and give instant feedback to players. Nothing that’s new.’’
Cane confirmed there was daily contact with Foster and Plumtree, but added their involvement was being kept to a minimum to allow those actually on the ground to lead the week.
The All Blacks will be desperately hoping that number of fit and available types does not shrink any more between now and Saturday. They will name their team tomorrow for the opening test.
New Zealand Cricket won’t be making any drastic changes as it reviews the Black Caps’ disastrous test series whitewash at the hands of England.
The world test champions’ defence of their title, won a year ago this month, is effectively over, even though they still have series against Pakistan (away) and Sri Lanka (home) to come in the next 12 months.
Losing 3-0 to an England team that went into the series having won one of its last 17 matches has ultimately accounted for them, but worrying signs were there last summer on home soil.
First they suffered a shock loss to Bangladesh at Bay Oval in January, then they failed to seal a series win over South Africa at Hagley Oval in February – results which left them needing a near-perfect record in their remaining three series to make the World Test Championship final for the second cycle in a row.
The whitewash by England was arguably the Black Caps’ most disappointing performance in redball cricket in a decade, going back to their loss in the West Indies in 2012, and they will have plenty of time to reflect before their next series in Pakistan in December.
‘‘I’ve obviously been talking closely with [coach] Gary [Stead] and the team,’’ NZ Cricket chief executive David White said yesterday.
‘‘We’ve lost key moments and this series hasn’t gone how we would’ve liked it to have gone, but the Black Caps have been outstanding for a number of years.
‘‘We will reassess, we’ll review the tour like we do with every tour, but we’ll work through it in a calm, methodical way to ensure that we take the lessons from, from what’s happened and we move forward.’’
Selections have been a hot topic throughout the series, with tireless seamer Neil Wagner not featuring in the first two tests and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel not playing after the series opener, where he bowled a total of two overs.
Batter Daryl Mitchell was by far the Black Caps’ best player, scoring 538 runs at an average of 108, but wouldn’t have been picked for the first test had Henry Nicholls not been injured.
The responsibility for selection on tour ultimately rests with Stead, though he does work hand in hand with captain Kane Williamson. While Gavin Larsen is part of the selection process in putting together squads, he does not travel with the team.
White said he had no concerns