'It hasn't excited me': All Blacks boss Ian Foster on New Zealand's midfield options

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has delivered his assessment on the candidates pushing for selection in New Zealand’s midfield on the All Blacks Podcast.

The All Blacks’ midfield of the past two seasons has relied upon the experienced 2019 World Cup pair of Anton Lienert-Brown and Jack Goodhue, but both have had lengthy stints on the sidelines at different times due to injury.

That opened the way for Blues wing-turned-centre Rieko Ioane to push for more time at centre, a positional shift Foster revealed he has been impressed by after watching the growth in Ioane’s game as a midfielder.

The Breakdown | Sky Sport NZ | Episode 15

The Breakdown | Sky Sport NZ | Episode 15

“It’s always hard selecting the All Blacks,” Foster told the All Blacks Podcast of his upcoming squad selection for the July test series against Ireland.

“It’s never easy. You know how much people want it. We had a lot of injuries and disruptions last year in our midfield.

“We had Anton, who’s the most experienced guy, he didn’t play much last year in the Rugby Championship, he had hamstring issues, he’s coming back and been injured again.

“Really pleasing for us is the massive growth in Rieko Ioane the last 12 months. We’ve had some great conversations [in the past]. He thinks he’s a 13 playing wing and I think he’s a wing playing 13, but the good thing is that people grow.

“He’s learned some things about playing at 13. I thought he finished the year strongly for us and he’s really taken his game to different level from what I’ve seen so far in Super Rugby, so I’m excited by that.”

Ioane has formed a strong midfield combination with former NRL superstar Roger Tuivasa-Sheck at the Blues as they have locked up the number one seed heading into this week’s Super Rugby Pacific quarter-finals.

On Tuivasa-Sheck’s transition to rugby, Foster said he was pleased with what he has seen and that he was keen to see how the 2018 Dally M Medallist plays over the remainder of the season through the playoffs.

“We are pleased with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s growth, particularly defensively he looks reasonably settled. Doesn’t mean he’s getting everything right, but he looks reasonably settled,” Foster said.

“He’s certainly good on the carry stuff, he’s probably still learning how to link and get the passing game. I’m not sure the state of the kicking game because I haven’t seen it yet.

“I know he’s an outstanding guy, he’s doing a great job at the Blues, we’ve had some connections with him and I know he’s in a great spot.

“We’ve just got to look at his progress and particularly the next four or five weeks will be crucial.”

One of the more radical midfield options on the table is Jordie Barrett, who was from fullback to second-five moved halfway into the season by the Hurricanes.

Foster said he has been watching with interest, but noted that the value of Barrett as a fullback cannot be discounted, saying the 25-year-old was a key performer for the All Blacks in 2021 and brings exactly what they need at No 15.

“Jordie, well, we’ve watched with interest him playing at 12. Look, to be honest, it hasn’t excited me that he’s going into there, but that’s okay,” Foster said.

“The way I see it is, he’s played 12 before, he quite enjoys it, it stimulates him, that’s great.

“I’m interested to see what it is, whether it’s an option for us long-term because it might become one, but I guess the clue that I’d give you is that, I thought he was one of our best All Blacks last year.

“His goal-kicking, his high ball stuff, kicking, if you start thinking about World Cups, France, big stadiums, low-risk teams playing, then you have to have a back three that defuses high balls, has a kicking game and is strong defensively.

“He ticks those boxes. I still love him as a 15, but are we willing to consider some option at 12? Well, yes we are.”