All Blacks head coach Ian Foster, still fighting for his job despite his side’s stunning 35-23 victory over South Africa at a packed Ellis Park, has described the criticism he has received since the Irish series defeat and last weekend’s loss to the Springboks as “vicious”.
Foster’s job is still very much hanging by a thread after the Irish failure at home – described as “not acceptable” by New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson, who was in the crowd in Johannesburg – but the under-pressure coach sounded a note of defiance after his side dug deep to come from behind and beat the world champions.
A media release from NZ Rugby on Sunday morning stated that Robinson would address the media at 5.30pm NZT.
“It comes with the job,” Foster said of the criticism. “It has been pretty vicious – there’s been a lot of onslaught, particularly from our New Zealand media. They’ve got high expectations of us and they’ve made that loud and clear.
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“They’ve clearly come very, very strongly at me, as a person. Some of them have even called some of our selections ‘popguns’ which I’ve found quite insulting for players who have given everything they’ve got to play for their nation.
“That pressure has been strong, but it doesn’t change the fact that through adversity, that’s the best teacher for character and we’ve stayed tight.”
That the All Blacks withstood that pressure, and the challenge from a South African side bolstered when taking a 23-21 lead for the first time in the 66th minute after the sinbinning of Beauden Barrett for an off-the-ball tackle, makes this victory all the more meritorious.
It was impressive and, in many ways, it came out of the blue, with the All Blacks making the most of a rare good start this year and attacking with clarity and focus thanks in good part to the improved performance of their work at the breakdown and inside back combination of first-five Richie Mo’unga and David Havili.
The All Blacks had the Boks creaking at 15-0 after 34 minutes, and while the home side responded with a try for Lukhanyo Am and a penalty before the break to narrow the deficit, and indeed grabbed the momentum along with the first try of the second half via the flying Makazole Mapimpi, the All Blacks finished by far the stronger.
Despite Beauden Barrett’s absence, the All Blacks quickly struck back via Havili’s try which came after some brilliant continuity play, including from debutant Fletcher Newell, with Scott Barrett’s try from close range after a devastating deep kick into South African territory from brother Jordie sealing a famous win.
Straight after the match, Foster was asked whether he would still be coach for the team’s next assignment against the Pumas in Christchurch a week on Saturday and told Sky Sports interviewer Jeff Wilson: “I’ve got no idea.”
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What is certain is that the All Blacks have retained a cherished trophy and are on the board in terms of Rugby Championship points. After Argentina’s historic 48-17 win over Australia in San Juan, New Zealand are fourth on the table on points difference but every team has won one game and lost one.
“We’re really proud to have the Freedom Cup, it means a lot to us,” Foster said. “I think the performance we saw today was the result of probably the last two and a half weeks where this group has reformed and re-shaped a little bit.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the effort of coming up here to altitude and winning a game that was swinging around and was lose-able and winnable, but to finish strong over a mighty team at their home ground is a pretty great occasion for us.”
The All Blacks disrupted the Boks’ breakdown, lineout, and driving maul and mostly tackled with a furious and accurate intensity. Under pressure, the home side’s kicking game didn’t reap the sort of rewards which paved the way to their 26-10 win in Nelspruit last weekend.
“Long-term success often starts with a bit of adversity, it often starts at a low point,” Foster said.
“We’ve lost three in a row this year and it hurt. I said last week I felt that [loss] was our best performance of the year and I felt it was because we saw signs… of our combativeness.
“We missed a beat at the breakdown but we’ve grown through that. We’re breeding a few young boys and combinations and that that takes time. Some people don’t have patience and get frustrated and I understand that. But inside the camp that doesn’t mean a lot to us.”
Foster praised Mo’unga’s performance and suggested it will boost the Crusaders’ player’s confidence significantly. "I'm delighted for him," Foster said.
Beauden Barrett, on as a second-half replacement for Caleb Clarke but playing at fullback, prompted an unusual re-shuffle following his yellow card, with Foster electing to take off skipper Sam Cane for midfielder Quinn Tupaea, with Tupaea packing down on the side of the scrum but otherwise covering the back-field.
“It was a tough decision,” Foster said. “We just had Akira [Ioane] come on with fresh legs. We were down and I didn’t want to expose the back field to a kick and chase game I really felt the South Africans would use if we tried to cover it with one less back. It was a big call, but we had fresh legs with Akira and we train for those situations.”
The All Blacks are back, but it's still not certain whether Foster will be.
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