Recalled AB prop’s perfect present
Birthday presents don’t come that much more special than what the All Black selectors handed Ethan de Groot yesterday.
de Groot celebrated his 24th birthday with a recall to the All Blacks, something he had set his sights on as soon as he was a shock omission last month from squad to play Ireland.
Just to make his birthday that bit better, de Groot got to play for his beloved province Southland in a preseason hit out against Otago In Invercargill on Friday.
‘‘[All Black selection] means a lot. I’ve worked hard during the break. I’m a bit shocked but happy as, and pretty proud.’’
When de Groot missed selection for the Ireland series, despite being part of the All Blacks in 2021, All Blacks coach Ian Foster indicated de Groot’s fitness and work rate were behind that decision.
de Groot said he had worked hard since to address that.
‘‘Obviously the first few days I was feel- ing a bit sorry for myself [after missing out],’’ de Groot said.
‘‘But I’ve worked hard since and I’ve just got to get back on the horse. The last four weeks I’ve just been working really hard.’’
‘‘Getting back down to Southland and playing some club footy has been awesome.’’
The 24-year-old is one of two players recalled for the Rugby Championship competition, the other being Highlanders loose forward Shannon Frizell.
His selection comes at a time when the All Blacks have had plenty of public pressure lumped on them following a test
But he did address the messy situation which occurred in Wellington on Sunday, when his press conference was cancelled at short notice.
Foster insisted that the cancellation wasn’t something he did, stating he understood the responsibilities that go along with being an All Blacks coach, which includes speaking to the public through the media.
‘‘I understand the frustration [about the cancelled press conference],’’ he said.
‘‘All I want to say on that regard is that I as a head coach would never ever not communicate with my fanbase when it’s expected I communicate with them.
‘‘I know my responsibility is to talk to the fanbase and if I knew I was supposed to do that, I would do that all the time.’’
Since the loss in Wellington, calls have series loss to Ireland.
de Groot said he was 100% confident the group was up for the challenge.
‘‘I’ve got full trust in the coaching team and the boys. I don’t know all the answers, but everyone is working hard and trying to get good outcomes.’’
de Groot said he was looking forward to ‘‘ripping in again’’ with the All Blacks which will start with two tests against South Africa in South Africa next month.
‘‘Obviously I’ve never played against the South Africans before, so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting a crack at been growing among the public for Foster to go, with Crusaders coach Scott Robertson the popular choice to be his replacement.
Foster hasn’t been burying his head in the sand the past week, he’s heard what people have said, but still believes he’s the right man for the job.
‘‘I love the passion of our fans and I love the opinions,’’ he said.
‘‘That is what it is, but I guess all I can assure people is the person that I am and my role in this team.
‘‘I’m not here for any other reason than to do the best I can for this team.
‘‘Right now, I can understand frustrations that we’ve lost a series, but my job is to put perspective around that, to make sure we take the lessons and this All Blacks team comes out stronger. I want to be playing some of those big boys over there.’’
While the day was all about de Groot’s All Black recall, disappointingly for him his Southland team was well beaten 50-5 in the preseason showdown against Otago.
de Groot played the first 40 minutes and was a physical presence when the Stags dominated the early exchanges.
The score was locked up at 0-0 after 30 minutes before Otago scored two tries to make it 12-0 at halftime.
Southland made a host of changes in the second half as Otago run in six second-half tries to blow the final score out to 50-5. part of the solution.’’ ‘‘Will there be some changes? Yes there will, but like I said, I’ll let you know shortly.’’
For some who never wanted Foster to get the job in the first place, it could be said they’ve revelled in the All Blacks failing under him. Foster was asked if he felt there were people who want him to fail.
‘‘I’m kind of the Covid coach aren’t I?’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t know, I can’t control anyone else’s agendas.
‘‘I’ve never seen this as a popularity contest, like I said, the All Black coach is about connecting with a group of players, believing in them and you’ve always got to test to see if you’re the right person. I believe I am.
‘‘But the comment I made about being resilient, well I’ve learnt that pretty quickly.’’