Foster to Gatland: Thanks for feedback
All Blacks’ planning not changed by jibes from head coach of Lions ahead of test
No Steve Hansen? No problem; the banter between All Blacks and Lions management just rolls along. Step forward Ian Foster, assistant coach and a canny man with a droll line in humour.
The players largely ignore the jibes lobbing to and fro between their bosses, according to All Black Sam Cane.
Lions coach Warren Gatland and Foster are old Waikato teammates from a celebrated era for the province. Gatland has been trying to gain traction with various issues around aspects of the All Blacks game.
Hansen has joined in the fun. Think of a couple of fencers trading jabs.
But just because there was no Big Cheese at the top table yesterday didn’t mean a halt to the gentle barbs.
The latest topic du jour has been the All Blacks’ use of off-the-ball blockers. Gatland isn’t happy about it but Foster wore a slightly weary demeanour when it was raised.
“I expected it,” he said when asked about the Lions’ latest concern. “Apparently we were bad scrummagers last week. This week we’re bad at something else and I’ll guarantee we’ll be useless at something else next week. That’s how I’m treating it.”
Foster was asked if he had been surprised at Gatland reacting to Hansen’s comments on a range of topics which included the idea that the All Black coach might be worried at what lies ahead on Saturday night at Eden Park. No, he wasn’t surprised.
“There’s a bit of banter going on and obviously he’s tried to highlight some things he doesn’t think we’re doing very good. We appreciate the feedback but it doesn’t change much of our planning.”
It was a good news day for the All Blacks yesterday, with Foster delighted to report plenty of empty space in the injury ward.
He didn’t actually confirm Kieran Read will lead the side out on Saturday night — 55 days after his last match, for the Crusaders in Bloemfontein — in so many words. But he indicated Read is over his broken thumb and ready to go. He’ll be short of match hardness, but his general fitness should be fine. A broken thumb, after all, isn’t a bung knee. It will be Read’s 98th test.
“He has had his first real solid hitout with contact and hopefully he comes through that well. He doesn’t want to miss it. He’s desperate to play. He’s our leader,” Foster said.
With the Lions expected to utilise fast line speed to try to hurry the All Blacks, Foster pointed out that every ploy a team adopts opens possibilities in other areas for opponents, if they’re good enough.
“A lot of teams are defending like this in Super Rugby. Quite frankly, we defend quickly now.
“The reason they do it is they think they can get an advantage from it, and with every method there’s always areas you can attack through it. We’ve just got to make sure we’re smart and patient as the game unfolds.”
His philosophy about the tests is pretty simple. “Boring press” he called it, but no less true for that.
“We prepare to play a team at their best and prepare to play our game at our best. We’ve got massive respect for who we’re going to play but we know we are at our best when we take a lot of pride in what we do.
“In big games you don’t get it all your own way. Sometimes the opposition will have a bit of a surge and it’s just riding through that then reimposing yourselves. [These are] tough teams, who want it a lot. We’ve got to just keep trusting what we do.”