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'The duo are limited': SA pundit twists the knife into All Blacks and claims Boks will win Cup
By Kim Ekin
After a resounding 35-7 win over the All Blacks at Twickenham, one South African rugby pundit has put the boot into New Zealand ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
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The dominant win over the 14-man All Blacks was enough evidence to write off Ian Foster’s chances according to provocative rugby voice Mark Keohane, who predicted “the Boks will send the All Blacks home in the quarter-finals.”
His issue with the All Blacks stemmed from the captain & coach selection, with Sam Cane and Ian Foster not ‘inspirational’ enough to win the prized trophy.
“For all the aura of the black jersey, for all the greatness in results in the mighty Richie McCaw and Dan Carter era, currently these All Blacks are led by the most ordinary captain and coach in Sam Cane and Ian Foster,” he wrote for Keo.co.za.
“The duo are limited. The two lack inspiration and they lack the type of presence of World Cup winners.”
Despite lacking the ‘presence’ of World Cup winners, Foster and Cane were both crowned champions in 2015. The head coach was an assistant under Hansen and Cane was the understudy to McCaw but played most matches.
With Ian Foster claiming that the All Blacks ‘got what they wanted’ after the 35-7 defeat, Keohane expressed his dismay at the positive attitude of the coach in the face of such a result.
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“They led a team to the slaughter against the Springboks at Twickenham on Friday night. They lost by 28 points – their worst in the history of the All Blacks,” he said.
“Such is the acceptance of New Zealanders, they actually found positives in their worst loss in history.
“How is that the mindset of champions? It is one of knowing your team is going nowhere.”
Despite winning the Bledisloe Cup, the Freedom Cup and the Rugby Championship throughout July, the loss of the inaugural Qatar Airways Cup in a warm-up fixture was a telling blow.
He predicted the All Blacks will go on to lose to France in the opener which would see them draw against Pool B winners South Africa, who would send them home with another defeat.
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The current number one ranked side, Ireland, would fall to hosts France in the other quarter-final.
“Ireland, after the Boks have dealt with them in the Group stages, will be dealt with by France,” he said.
The host nations and defending champions would meet in the final in Paris where “the Boks to complete the most amazing World Cup double” and defeat France by 20 points at home.
MK is almost as bad as Jeff Wilson.
Keo is the last hack I would take advise from
No one cares about that score. It's the tournament scores that matter, in this year.
RSA may well meet and beat NZ in the quarters but it's not worth worrying about. Let's hope NZ and RSA both top their respective pools and meet in the final. That would be the perfect rematch.
What a load of absolute crap!! Sammy is a great player/ captain. It was only a warm up game what matters is can they win when it matters an I believe they can and will.
Can't wait for this WC to kick off! :-D
Every team has its record loss, some bigger than others - SA knows too well about that (2017) ;-) and later they went on to win the WC :-D
The points made about Sam Cane and Ian Foster are accurate and probably generous. The selection & development have been safety first since 2019. Cane is the most ineffectual openside flanker in my lifetime and Atrdie is not big big and mean enough for 8. I don't know if I can watch anymore AB games. It hurts too too too much.
The kiss of death from Keohane.
Pay no mind to Mark Keohane. He's a national embarrassment here in South Africa. Far too outspoken. Bit of a child, really.
Plot twist:
ABs are sandbagging
Fozzie's a genius and about to pull the biggest bait-and-switch in rugby history to win the WC
Can only hope..