All Blacks coach wants schedule changed

All Blacks coach Ian Foster said on Tuesday that the Rugby Championship organisers need to move quickly to change the tournament s schedule and ’ allow his team members to spend Christmas with their families rather than in quarantine in New Zealand.

The All Blacks are scheduled to play Australia in Sydney on December 12 and would have to spend two weeks in isolation when they return home as part of Covid-19 protocols.

The schedule has angered New Zealand Rugby, and Foster said Sanzaar, which organises the tournament, has reneged “” on a deal that would have allowed the All Blacks to finish the tournament a week earlier. It needs to be sorted today

— would be great, but we ll accept ’ tomorrow,” he told New Zealand reporters. There was a deal “based on the fifth [of December]. We feel Sanzaar has reneged on that, so we ve put some ’ solutions [forward], so we ll wait ’ and see. There s been set expecta“’ tions and they haven t been ’ delivered on, so that s up to the ’ game and Sanzaar to sort out.” Foster stopped short of suggesting the All Blacks could boycott the final match if Sanzaar does not change the schedule. I don t want to talk about that ’ now,” he said. That s a headline that I don t ’ ’ want to put out there. But we re ’ bitterly disappointed that what was proposed got changed.”

The All Blacks will play their first Test match of the year against Australia in Wellington on October 11, with a second Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park a week later before the Rugby Championship starts in Australia in November.

New Zealand media have voiced concern that a number of All Blacks players with young families, including new father Beauden Barrett, might opt out of the last championship match.

Veteran hooker Dane Coles said that he will not be making any Christmas plans until there is clarity.

Once we get a solid plan then we can have those conversations with our loved ones and have those tough conversations about what will happen,” he said.