All Blacks seek new formula
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has established an early theme for Scotland test week in Edinburgh, and it is all about wiping the slate clean from Cardiff and finding a way to back up a quality performance for the first time this year.
In many ways it’s the elephant in the room for Foster’s improving side in 2022. As well as they have played periodically, they have uniformly failed to follow a statement test performance with another next time out.
The strong first-up effort against the Irish in July was followed by historic back-toback defeats to the tourists. Then Ellis Park, then Hamilton, then Eden Park were all followed, respectively, by Christchurch, Melbourne and Tokyo. Yes, two of those were victories but anyone who counts the outrageous Marvel Stadium heist and bumbling effort against Japan as positives needs to remove their All Black eyepatches.
It’s a key missing ingredient Foster clearly hopes to tick off this week, as his All Blacks look to back up last weekend’s impressive 55-23 dismantling of the Welsh at Principality Stadium with a similarly convincing performance against the Scots at Murrayfield (kickoff 3.15am, Monday NZT).
‘‘We’re always searching for that,’’ said Foster. ‘‘I think it’s about not trying to copy and paste anything. It’s about [understanding] the buildup for each test is different – different conditions, different opposition and different pressure points.
‘‘The danger is when you try and copy and paste a formula. We can’t use [last] week’s formula for [this] week. We’ve got to rebuild from zero on Tuesday, then hoe into it and find a real meaning in the preparation.
‘‘That’s our goal. Sometimes we judge great performances by scorelines, but also great performances can come just by solving problems on the park and that’s what I think we’re getting a little bit better at.’’
There’s no doubt Foster’s All Blacks are on the improve. They have won five on the bounce now – a fact gleefully pointed out by the coach post-game in Cardiff – so there is at least an element of consistency. When they get it right, this remains a team capable of rolling anyone in the world game right now.
They got a lot right in Wales in slippery conditions, dominating up front and playing just the right mix to run in eight tries, yet not give the ball too much air when it was
at times difficult to hold on to. The New Zealanders’ clinical finishing in the opposition 22 was a major step forward.
That was why Foster showed no concern when asked about the lack of touches for his outsides in the test.
‘‘It was the nature of the conditions,’’ he said. ‘‘It was very slippery ... I quite like that stat in that sort of game because sometimes we overplay in those conditions because we just want to play. I kind of like the patience.’’
Now the challenge is to replicate something similar against a resolute Scotland side that has a bit more starch than some of its predecessors.
Foster has the comfort of an eight-day lead-in this week, but is well aware that leads into a six-day turnaround for the tour finale against England. That may be a factor in selection.
‘‘It’s a juggling act,’’ conceded the coach. ‘‘At what stage do you put all your eggs in one basket and at what stage do you build depth? I guess that’s the art of selection.’’