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Ian Foster explains 'balance' of new look All Blacks team for Uruguay
By Ned Lester
The All Blacks have named their 23 to face Uruguay in the last round of pool play at the Rugby World Cup, and in doing so, they have struck a fine balance between continuity, rest and opportunity.
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The four players who returned from injury against Italy – Tyrel Lomax, Shannon Frizell, Sam Cane and Jordie Barrett – have each been named in the starting unit as the quartet re-establishs themselves as first-choice options in their respective positions.
Rest has been handed to the likes of Ardie Savea, Aaron Smith, Rieko Ioane and Mark Telea while David Havili is the only player unavailable due to injury with a hamstring niggle. Ethan de Groot is also serving the final game of his suspension after being shown a red card against Namibia.
Dynamic loose forward Ethan Blackadder gets his first crack at World Cup minutes after replacing Emoni Narawa in the squad, coming off the bench along with a nearly entirely Crusaders reserve forward pack. The back reserves are an all Blues affair.
Head coach Ian Foster offered some insight into the selection discussions after the team naming, stating history had informed the decision-making.
“A lot of history, looking at how guys performed consecutive weeks, consecutive Tests, the load that they’ve been carrying,” Foster told media.
“It’s a slightly tighter turnaround for this (game), the pleasing thing is we found, we had a two-week break and we delivered the performance against Italy, so we believe there are some players that respond well to that.
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“And clearly, you’re making decisions now to make sure that you’re building the continuity and not taking a step back in the areas we feel we need to grow. But, we’ve also got to make some smart decisions because, let’s face it, we want to do well on Thursday and then we want three more games.
“We want to make sure we have the energy in the tank to do that so it’s getting that balance.”
Foster admits the coaches are “pretty clear” on what their top team looks like, but says there is always room for players to put their hand up.
The team needs a bonus point win to ensure their place in the quarter-finals, but the message is clear and simple.
“Look, we’ve selected the team that we think is best for this game,” Foster added.
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“You’ve got to make sure that you prepare for the here and now, I guess with an eye to the future. You’ve got to get that balance right.
“But there’s enough challenges in the here and now. Uruguay represents some pretty significant challenges in many areas of the game for us that perhaps we have to get better in for the future anyway.
“They are an ambitious team. We know we are going to have to be alive defensively because they are going to want to take opportunities when they can. We also know they are highly combative at the breakdown. They’ve basically got the Rugby World Cup’s leading jackler in their team.
“Rugby, in many ways, is still pretty simple. You’ve just got to get two or three of your big rocks right every week and then the other stuff adds on top of that.”
Jeff Wilson saying something complimentary about a Crusader! Wow. Can’t keep swimming against the tide. Glad some of the guys are getting game time… Cane will hopefully get injured and miss the last few games. Would be great to see Blackadder get amongst it. He won’t force his way into a starting 15 under Foster, but would be a huge asset in the QF and other Finals.