Fozzie sweet until the Cup but Razor remains a must
Is this the final decision on the coach?
My money, as it was last week, is on Ian Foster and his coaching team taking the All Blacks to the World Cup in France next year.
The win at Ellis Park was pivotal. New Zealand Rugby eventually stayed true to their conservative DNA. Now it would take an unprecedented run of bad results for NZR to have a change of heart.
Where does this leave Scott Robertson?
Hopefully not cast adrift. He is by a long way the most successful Super Rugby coach. The mantra is that you have to either coach overseas, or have been an All Blacks assistant to take charge of our national team.
Robertson has been an assistant coach, but it was a long time ago, for Canterbury in the NPC for five seasons to 2012.
So exactly where, after another season with the Crusaders next year, he might fit with NZR in any role other than as a head coach is hard to see.
But if NZR don’t make every effort to persuade him he’s not written off by them, it’d be a mistake as stupid as the decision made last century to force out undefeated All Blacks coach Fred Allen because he, like Robertson, didn’t easily fit into a conventional mould.
In politics, it’s the economy — in rugby, it’s the forwards
“We didn’t need to dominate South Africa in the forwards,” a former All Blacks veteran said to me during the week. “But we needed parity. With that, we’ve got the talent in the backs to beat them.”
Without going too Lego “everything is awesome” on it, you could reasonably expect that the step up the All Blacks pack took in Johannesburg wasn’t a one-off.
The combination of the technical skills of new assistant Jason Ryan and introduction of dynamic newcomers Ethan de Groot and Samisoni Taukei’aho are pointers to long-term improvements.
With the base consolidated, there’s reason to be optimistic that the tests against the Pumas and Wallabies will be a pleasure to watch, not something to grimly endure.
So can we win the World Cup?
In 1995, the All Blacks were the form team by the length of State Highway One but a superhuman effort by the Springboks and a rampant stomach bug tripped them up in the final.
In Japan in 2019, the All Blacks confidently disposed of South Africa 23-13 in pool play but the losing Springboks rebounded to win the big prize.
So as tough as New Zealand’s draw in France looks, with France first up in pool play, and then almost certainly facing South Africa or Ireland in a quarter-final, if there’s further development from last weekend, it would be foolish to write them off.
Was it extraordinary that players spoke up?
It was unusual but not unique for senior players, with Sam Whitelock, as a leading Crusader, probably the most influential, to publicly support Foster, as they did after the win at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
John Kirwan said he hoped John Hart would be appointed coach after a disappointing 1991 World Cup. It seemed a foolhardy move when Laurie Mains got the position. But in fairness to Mains, Kirwan played three more seasons of test rugby with Mains as coach. In the 2022 All Blacks, there’s now no downside for volunteering, as apparently 10 of them did, to front the media in Johannesburg to speak up for Foster.
A delight and also a warning
The terrific spring in the step of Wayne Smith, now well settled in as coach of the Black Ferns, is a reflection of the character, enthusiasm and range of life skills among his players.
There’s a joy in the attitude of the Ferns, which springs from the fact they aren’t full-time players but have rich and varied lives away from the game.
Given how important women’s rugby is to the survival of the sport here, maintaining that passionate approach as the women’s game edges towards professionalism should be considered an essential challenge for New Zealand Rugby officials.