1
With these All Blacks it's about coaching and leadership, plain and simple
Hubris is at the heart of the issue here.
Not Ian Foster’s, necessarily, although find me a coach that doesn’t believe they have the answers to everything.
ADVERTISEMENT
No, we have a nation and an All Blacks team being held to ransom by the arrogance of New Zealand Rugby (NZR).
Let’s be honest here.
Foster was never the right man to be All Blacks coach and, were the game under better management, he would’ve been gone at the end of either of the team’s 2020 or 2021 campaigns.
Video Player is loading.
This is a modal window.
The Video Cloud video was not found.
Error Code: VIDEO_CLOUD_ERR_VIDEO_NOT_FOUND
Session ID: 2025-07-22:2009188adf30ab7c8aa22eea Player Element ID: brightcove-embedded-video
Look, journalism is about snap judgements. It’s about meeting people, sizing them up, chatting away and then reaching conclusions.
If journalists are qualified in anything, it’s that.
We talk to good people, bad people, smart people and dim people and we realise very quickly who’s who.
Who among us then, be they media, fans or only occasional watchers of rugby, has ever been captivated by Ian Foster? Who’s been dazzled by his brilliance and charisma? Who’s been struck by the man’s acumen and authority?
People will say that Foster is potentially a good coach and that, just because he doesn’t have a great public persona, doesn’t mean he’s not good at his job.
ADVERTISEMENT
And I’d counter with Ireland’s 2-1 series win on these shores and various All Blacks defeats overseas.
Do you, in your heart of hearts, believe Ireland’s players are better than ours? Do you?
There’s no doubt they’re better coached, more united and more successful right now. But are they actually better?
Man for man, most of us would agree the All Blacks have more talent.
So it’s about coaching and leadership, plain and simple.
Or, more to the point, the absence of both.
If NZR were leaders, they’d have led by now. They’d have accepted their appointment error and moved on.
ADVERTISEMENT
Instead, and this is where the hubris comes in, they’re too proud to admit their fault.
Imagine that? Imagine being so tied to the belief in your own infallibility, that you’d rather lose test matches than admit you got it wrong.
Well, I’d wager the losses being piled up by this coaching regime is doing more damage to the All Blacks’ brand than any admission of failure ever could.
It’s obscene that journalists were prevented from asking Foster about his future, following Saturday’s 32-22 defeat to Ireland. It’s shameful that there was no Sunday morning press briefing, as has always been the custom. It’s pathetic that the best we got instead was an inadequate press release quoting NZR chief executive Mark Robinson.
He and Foster should be fronting the public. They should be taking hard questions and asserting their leadership credentials.
And, if they’re not prepared to do that, then they should go.
I hear Foster talk endlessly of lessons and markers. Of sobering realisations about the standards the once mighty All Blacks have to aspire to.
And then I sit and cringe at the ineptitude of performances, such as Saturday night’s.
Well, have your thorough review of the Ireland series, NZR. Sit down with old mate Fozzie and develop support structures and strategies to better-equip the team for success.
Send out the subsequent press release, stating your full confidence in the coaching staff and excitement at the challenges ahead.
Just don’t be surprised when that fails to stem the tide of public disquiet.
Everyone wants to support the team. They love the players and the jersey and they revel in the status the All Blacks have afforded New Zealand on the world stage.
But people are hurt right now. They’re disillusioned and disappointed and they believe a change in coach could fix that.
But they also know it’s not in NZR’s nature to admit when they’re wrong and, for that reason, they’re about ready to give up on this team while things remain the same.
I don't understand why people are surprised. When you hire a coach like Foster who has never won anything, why is he expected to change now. guy lost with Waikato, lost with the Chiefs, and now he's losing with the All Blacks
Good piece - cant deny the quality of the Ireland team, they have got some World XXIII players in their team. But in no way are they better than the ABs in every position!
The facts are highlighted in the article - gameplan, alignment, accuracy and decision making in all cases Ireland were superior to the ABs in the last two tests.
Imagine a team scores within the first 5 mins in the first two tests, and you play into their hands in the 3rd test too. You allow yourseleves to be bossed at the ruck in the 2nd test, and do the same in the 3rd. Coaches and ABs recognize discipline was an issue in 2nd test, but within 2 mins of the start, the Captain tackles a man without the ball, penalty > lineout > maul > try! Ireland's 4th try from a lineout maul (AGAIN), a 120Kg prop peels away and drives over Havili and Fakatava because no AB Forward was covering flank.
Of course players must take responsibility, however, fundamentally - poor gameplan, poor alignment, poor accuracy and poor decision making are a COACHING issue.
After the December review of the poor EOYT, Fozzie & Plumtree et al were given the opportunity to put things right - we lost to Ireland and France because of poor gameplan, poor alignment, poor accuracy and poor decision making - so what has changed?
Rugby is a professional sport - to stop a press conferance because you dont want to hurt someones feelings - then do be involved in HIGH PERFORMANCE professional sport!
ABs definitely have better wings, not sure about midfield in 12 and 13. Rieko out of position. 12 ABs jury still out. BBB a better rugby player than Sexton but not a better 10 in terms of structural play. Nuggie better than G-Park. Ardie better than any of their loose trio. Whitelock and Retallick on form better than Beine. But Irish props far better than ABs. Talent counts for nothing without proper game plan, players with basics to execute in each position. Poor coaching is the lack of security to choose players who are good at the fundamentals of their positions first and going for the most talented individuals and round pegging them in square holes. Basically a 10 who can't steer his team around the park, an 8 who is a 7 and is carrying too big a load for the loosies. A 13 who can't pass the ball because he's a wing. A lack of 6 enforcer. And then a clear lack of gameplan ...
You got it on spot mate. Actually, for the team to prosper, Fozzie and his crew must exit. Basically, All Blacks were exposed in all the three tests. Lack of a game plan to subdue the Irish. The team requires structural, technical and tactical adjustments. In the breakdown, they were caught napping all day. The team seems disconnected and something draconian must be done. Get Rieko to wing, PGS at 8, Ardie at 7, Frizzell at 6. Then shuffle the backline and get the team running.
I think most kiwis probably agree with what the author is saying, that man for man the ABs have more talent. That line seems hard to swallow when you see the performances of Cian Healey, tadgh furlong, sexton and others on the Irish team, but the question is would they have been that good if they hadn't had two great coaching setups lead by Schmidt and now Farrel instilling that ability and coherence in their systems, roles, and skills? Kiwis look at players like Lowe, aki, and Gibson park who were at best 4/5th on the AB pecking order when they left, and say that if players that were less talented are now performing so well for a rival country, it's not about the talent that they had, but how well it has since been nurtured. This is where Ireland should really be celebrated and shows what the current AB setup is lacking
"Man for man, most of us would agree the All Blacks have more talent."
Would we though, if we selected a joint team on form from the series?
Ardie Savea and Will Jordan only two ABs players getting on that team
The All Blacks are our biggest rivals. As a Bok supporter, and obviously an outsider, it is disturbing to see what is happening with All Black rugby. What I see is:
- The same world class players
- Those players do not lose their skills overnight
- All Black forwards that do not rate in the top 4 in the world
- A game plan that has stagnated. Yes it worked in the glory years of 2011 to 2015 but not now. Rugby has changed
- All tier 1 nations have upped their defences.
To win consistently any team has to have several strategies. The All Blacks do not.
It comes down to one thing.....
Coaching. That's it.
Take the Boks before 2018. Nowhere. Bad coaching.
Bring on Rassie and Nienaber and it changed. Won WC 2019. Record score in the final.
I believe that the All Blacks can turn it around. There are World class coaches in NZ.
Innovative coaching and beefing up the pack will get the All Blacks to the top again. The world needs the All Blacks to be strong.
« Man for man, most of us would agree the All Blacks have more talent ».
That’s where the writer gets it wrong I think. Who would disagree that Ireland are pitching outstanding players, who could probably if not certainly fit in any premium team ?
History has driven observers, and especially Kiwis to nurture the hype around the AB.
This imagery and track record has been fed to the point where it structurally maintains a mammoth confidence within the team, while scaring proportionately their opponents, hence entertaining the momentum.
I see no reason why AB should dominate RU 60 to 70% of the time, seldom if ever loose a series at home, or blame their ill-playing rather than recognize the winner’s talent and achievement.
The day may have come when the AB face a period of time, when they simply have to make do with other teams that play better rugby. Is that too shameful to admit ?