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All Blacks 'rebuild' called into question by pundits as strategy not clear

Head coach Ian Foster of the All Blacks looks on ahead of The Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Argentina Pumas at Orangetheory Stadium on August 27, 2022 in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Ian Foster’s post-match comments about an All Blacks ‘rebuild’ have confused fans and pundits alike as the side continues to select mostly the same match day 23.

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Many upset All Black supporters would have hung around on Saturday night after the historic loss to the Pumas hoping to hear an explanation.

The words they were met with were not ones that sat atop their Christmas wish-list:

“As I’ve said over the last few weeks, we are a team that’s rebuilding,” Foster said in his post-match press conference.

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“Rebuilding” is a term that has since divided, confused and disappointed Kiwi pundits.

What exactly a rebuild means in the context of an All Blacks team, especially the current one, is unclear.

Former Blues hooker James Parsons of The Aotearoa Rugby Pod used the Black Ferns as an example of what a successful rebuild looks like.

“If you look at the amount of changes every week, every test there’s opportunity created for players to put their hand up, to make the World Cup squad and set the tone of that competitive edge within that group,” he said.

“It’s working, and they’re still having the ability to win test matches.”

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The former All Black hooker didn’t see the same approach being taken by Foster and his staff, calling into question the ‘rebuild’ label.

“Whereas [with the All Blacks] we have seen quite a consistent form of selection for a while now in those key (areas),” he explained.

“If I was a player and I heard coach talk about rebuilding, you’d probably have to expect a few changes this week.

“If that is the case, give guys opportunities, Hoskins [Sotutu], Roger [Tuivasa-Sheck], Stevey [Perofeta].”

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The question over whether the All Blacks were rebuilding was also hotly debated on this week’s episode of The Breakdown.

Former All Black fullback Mils Muiaina voiced his frustrations to the panel about unrealistic expectations being placed on the side.

“Are we being realistic about where and how close we are, we’re not dominant like we used to be,” he said.

“We’re not going to get back to those (dominant) stages in the next two to three test matches.

“We’ve got to be patient about where these guys are heading”

The ideal timeline for the All Blacks to start winning to appease the New Zealand public is in time for next year’s World Cup.

Regardless, Muliaina challenged New Zealand’s unwavering demand for winning rugby.

“Are we prepared to lose, to win later on?” Muliaina questioned.

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5 Comments
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Michael 796 days ago

Rebuilding in the third year of a four year World Cup cycle - what a lot of BS!

After RWC19 Foster had the opportunity to make a real clear out and reset - (especially with no Boks in RC) he didn’t do that instead he stuck with basically same team and game plan

S
Spew_81 797 days ago

They've been rebuilding since 2016. The last time the team was good was 2015.

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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