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.
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 ...
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?
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: