1
The tone of head coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane’s press conference after the All Blacks‘ worst defeat to South Africa in 94 years has upset many among their supporter base.
ADVERTISEMENT
Foster – who is under enormous pressure to keep his job – appeared to drive a narrative of an improving New Zealand side, despite arguably one of their worst performances in living memory.
The men in black looked bereft of ideas and were physically outgunned by the Springboks’ pack.
Kurt-Lee Arendse’s maiden Test try condemned New Zealand to three straight defeats for the first time since 1998 as 14-man South Africa triumphed 26-10 in the Rugby Championship opener.
Shannon Frizzell claimed a late try for the again-stunned All Blacks, but Willie le Roux hit back with a score of his own to claim the last word.
The two sides meet again in Johannesburg in a week’s time, where anything other than a New Zealand victory could easily see Foster forced out of his job.
Yet Foster preferred to dwell on the positives, to the point where many fans were questioning if the 52-year-old was talking about the same match.
“We’re bitterly disappointed but I felt it was our most improved performance this year,” said the 52-year-old. “Some of the areas we really shifted our game forward. In a game dominated by defence we defended well but our timing was out a little bit in terms of the attack so we’re going to have to go and have a look at that.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“There’s a few players over here for the first time feeling the pressure that comes from this type of team.
“We came over here for a two-game series and we always knew it was going to be tough. We felt that tonight. They get the lollies and they thoroughly deserve that. We’ve got to take some things that we’ve made big shifts in. We nullified a large part of their driving game.
“We made some shifts defensively and in the last quarter we were starting to open things up. We started to snatch at a couple of balls which is frustrating but we’ve got to take that experience and take it into Ellis Park, walk in there and give it a crack.”
additional reporting PA
It's all very well having the video commentary but it's a bit pointless if you can't hear the questions. Why don't you subtitle the questions?
Can anyone point out what the ABs did well in the game. Defence was better but that's it. The attack (which Foster was in charge of) was so lack lustre, no direction, players pumping into each other, it was pathetic. Personally, this was probably the ABs worst performance of the year. The ABs have won 1 game this year, the game Foster was absent, that should tell us everything we need to know.
Foster's response to questions "we'll take a look at that" "we need to look at that" blah blah blah blah.
Foster is so uninspiring, he couldn't inspire a man dying of thirst to take a cup of water from him.
We didn't front..this was the make or break game for Foster and his cohort. I don't mind them being beaten..it's how they were beaten..no fight..no mongrel..no urgency..no idea..they continue to play like they have not been coached. Time he was asked to resign and Cane along with him.
It's not the defeat that bothers me the most, or the score; you win some, you lose some, and it's all in preparation for next year's World Cup. It is the "how". Boks' game offered few surprises, if any, and still, the ABs were badly outmatched tactically, not that you could have guessed it from Foster's self-serving answers.
It was the most pathetic post match interviews - weak questions from the journalists and pie-in-the-sky belief by the two interviewees.
The answers given by Foster were just nonsensical- he was not watching the same game.
"14 man South Africa triumphed" is a bit misleading.
The SA player was red carded after 74 mins.