Foster’s chumps now champs
As Ian Foster wrapped up a tumultuous Rugby Championship campaign on the Sunday after the night before at the All Blacks’ waterfront Auckland hotel, the trophy they had just clinched a few short hours ago sat tantalisingly within touching distance – no longer metaphorical, but actual.
The All Blacks grabbed, on consecutive match nights, the Bledisloe Cup and, eventually, the Rugby Championship trophy (once South Africa beat Argentina 38-21 in Durban, falling short of their tough goal of securing a bonus point and a winning margin of at least 40 points).
The All Blacks’ 40-14 trouncing of Australia on Saturday night completed an end to a domestic campaign that was equal parts satisfying, relieving and defining for a national coach who doesn’t need reminding about how fine the lines are in international sport.
‘‘It’s very special,’’ reflected Foster yesterday. ‘‘It’s been a different journey to other Rugby Championships we’ve won. To do it from behind the 8-ball at the start ... it’s not the way we wanted, but it’s very satisfying.’’
Amid all the doom and gloom that surrounded so much of this campaign, some real cast-iron positives have emerged, says Foster. In no particular order he has refreshed his front row, added steel to a pack that looked to be flagging last November, found a level of consistency in his defence and some attacking spark, if not always the finishing touches.
‘‘In life you don’t know what it’s going to chuck at you,’’ added Foster. ‘‘You can only deal with the situation you’re in and no-one can walk in those shoes but yourself. What have we learnt? That under pressure we stay tight, under pressure we’ve sought solutions that have made us uncomfortable at times, but the goal is to get the performance right.’’
And then Foster added an important rejoinder.
‘‘There is still quite a bit left in this tank. We saw that even last night. The building blocks are nice, but there are still a lot of finishing touches we’re not quite getting right. But what a great spot to be in.’’
In terms of gains made, Foster listed match understanding, set piece, ball-carrying and defence as some areas where significant progress was achieved.
‘‘We’re still not an 80-minute team, and that requires a mental approach where we’re just a little more relentless,’’ he said. ‘‘But we’ve seen signs we’re going
upwards in that area.’’
Then came the prods for personal reflection. The man so many wanted to go, is not only still there, but thriving. Had he proved a point?
‘‘Take the word ‘you’ and make it a ‘we’,’’ he nodded. ‘‘We’ve proven to ourselves we can climb through adversity – and there will be more to come. I’m just proud of the way the team dealt with the pressure of not performing to the level we wanted and haven’t sulked about it, and just got into work.
‘‘As a coach you grow through experience. It’s hard to explain sometimes the journey a team is taking and changes they are making. Sometimes you’ve just got to go do it. It’s satisfying where we’re at but there are more ladders to climb.’’
It’s why the November northern tour becomes ‘‘vital’’ added Foster. There will be a couple of weeks recovery for most of the squad (around a dozen will return to their provinces for game-time), with the touring group to be named in a fortnight, with a threeday camp in Nelson prior to departure for Japan.