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'He doesn't believe that': All Blacks boss Ian Foster weighs in on Sam Cane's comments

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

All Blacks coach Ian Foster has addressed comments made by Sam Cane following the team’s loss to Argentina, standing by his captain’s decision to speak his mind.

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Cane spoke about the backlash from the fans that came after back-to-back losses to Australia and Argentina, telling Sky Sport‘s The Breakdown that some fans might not know as much about rugby as they think.

While some agreed with him or were happy to see an All Blacks captain speak their mind, Cane’s comments drew plenty of criticism. Speaking to Newstalk ZB‘s Martin Devlin, Foster said he might not have agreed with the comments, he’s happy for his captain to share his thoughts.

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“When it comes to him expressing himself, I would like to think the New Zealand public know that their captain is going to say what he thinks. That’s what he does,” Foster said.

“Do I agree with what he said? Not really, and I know – talking to Sam he knows it too – that our fans are lovely.

“At the end of the day we know you can’t say that, and he fundamentally doesn’t believe that. We’re hardest on ourselves, we go through that process and when you keep hearing it, it challenges you mentally and he’ll learn a bit from that. I don’t think there should be any mistake, he’s developing into an outstanding captain and I’m excited by that.”

Cane, 28, is in his first year as All Blacks skipper, being named to succeed Kieran Read when Foster took over from Steve Hansen at the helm following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

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His tenure hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest start, with two wins in five tests. However, with the team at the start of a new era, it could take time until they are working as a well-oiled machine, particularly in the current environment which is full of uncertainty and rushed scheduling due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When it comes to Sam, I support him 100 per cent,” Foster said. “I think he’s doing a great job internally as a captain, and his form on the park’s been outstanding. He’s got things he’s still working on and that’s great.”

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fl 7 hours ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Smith generally isn't well connected to his forward pods; doesn't do a great job of distributing to those around him; and has inferior positional and contestable kicking games than Ford and Fin.


When England have had success over the past few years, its been either through (i) defensive rugby backed up with smart tactical kicking or (ii) high possession attacking phase play based on quick ruck ball. George Ford was key to the implementation of (i) in the RWC, and in the 6N win over Wales, and to the implementation of (ii) in the 6N games against Ireland and France. Smith did great at (ii) when running at tired defenders at the end of the Ireland match, but has never successfully implemented that gameplan from the start of a test because he doesn't distribute or support his forwards enough to create consistent fast ball and build attacks over multiple phases. Instead, his introduction to the starting side has resulted in much more playmaking responsibilities being forced onto whoever plays 9. Alex Mitchell copes ok with that, but I think he looks better with a more involved playmaking 10 outside him, and it really isn't a gameplan that works for JVP or Spencer. As a result of that the outside backs and centres have barely touched the ball when Smith has been at 10.


This might not have been too much of a disaster, as England have seemed to be moving slightly towards the sort of attacking gameplan that France played under Labit and Quins play (I think this was especially their approach when they won the league a few years ago - but its still a part of their play now), which is based on kicking to create broken field rugby. This is (i) a sharp departure from the gameplans that have worked for England in the past few seasons; (ii) bears very little relation to the tactical approaches of the non-Quins players in the England team; and (iii) is an absolute disaster for the blitz defence, which is weak in transition. Unsurprisingly, it has coincided with a sharp decline in England's results.

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