Foster’s men want off the rollercoaster
The All Blacks are yet to win back-to-back test matches in a 2022 campaign that has vacillated between terrific and horrific, and it is fair to say head coach Ian Foster is desperate to change that trend, and the unforgiving narrative that has accompanied it.
With his job now safe after a postJohannesburg rethink at board level, and his team fresh off arguably its most impressive performance of the season (the 53-3 dismantling of Argentina in Hamilton), Foster yesterday boarded the plane to Melbourne with the proverbial spring in his step.
Whether he returns with the same bouncy stride will largely be determined by the outcome of Thursday’s opening Bledisloe Cup test, and fifth Rugby Championships fixture, against the Wallabies at Marvel Stadium. In an impossibly tight competition, with one point separating all four sides, the ladder-leading All Blacks will likely need consecutive victories over the Wallabies to retain the trophy.
They will return to New Zealand to host the Australians in the competition finale in Auckland on September 24.
‘‘We clearly want to win every game we play. We haven’t done that, but we’ve shown we can do that,’’ said Foster from Auckland airport yesterday when asked if consistency was the next challenge for his side in 2022.
‘‘It’s pretty important for us to build on Hamilton again, and a few weeks earlier in South Africa. We know we can play at the level we need to, and we’ve just got to keep doing it regularly.
‘‘The thing I’m most proud of is we’re starting to do it during the week at a really high level, and I know if we can carry on that preparation it’s going to transfer to that consistency we want. There is no better way than starting that next week, and that’s certainly our aim.’’
Foster’s All Blacks have ridden the proverbial rollercoaster in 2022 – fabulous one week, hideous the next.
After opening the year with an impressive 42-19 victory over the Irish, they lost the next two tests against Andy Farrell’s side to tumble to a rare home series setback. They opened the Rugby Championship with a 26-10 defeat to the Springboks in Mbombela, before reversing that with the 35-23 Ellis Park triumph that saved the coach’s bacon.
Inevitably, they were stunned 25-18 by the Pumas first up in Christchurch (their first home defeat to Argentina and the first time they’ve dropped three tests on the bounce on Kiwi soil), only to turn things
All Blacks squad: Forwards:
Backs: around dramatically a week later in Hamilton as they ran in seven unanswered tries on a challenging night in the rain.
‘‘I guess losses are seen as disasters and wins as victories, but it’s part of the growth,’’ noted Foster before boarding the plane with his squad of 33 for the Bledisloe opener.
‘‘We’ve got a number of guys who are feeling what it’s like to be in this team in starting roles for the first time and feeling the intensity we need. There’s a lot of learning going on. I think we’re learning quickly, but we’ve got a couple of big weeks ahead to keep proving that.’’
There was a feeling that the All Blacks might just have turned the corner in Hamilton with the efficiency, energy and smarts they played with in their most sustained performance of the year.
‘‘The mindset is good,’’ said Foster. ‘‘We haven’t had a chance to have a conversation about it yet ... we’d like to get over there and really start our work. It’s a big series, we all know the state of the Rugby Championship, and every game matters. So we’re going over to Melbourne, a new location for a lot of us for a number of years, to play a pretty important game.’’
Foster said the few days off postHamilton had been a ‘‘nice breather’’ for a squad that’s had the blowtorch on it pretty much throughout a busy 2022 campaign.
‘‘We’ve always had a flow in the Rugby Championship with two tests on and one off, and the last couple of years that hasn’t been there for different reasons. It does feel like we’re getting back to normal a bit, and that means you can ramp up the intensity for a couple of weeks and I guess breathe for a little bit, and then get ready to do it again.’’
Doing it again is what it is all about for the All Blacks in Bledisloe I. More of what we saw in Hamilton and the big cup gets tucked away for a 20th consecutive year, and one hand is on that prized Rugby Championship trophy.