Ian Foster has explained his reason for retaining the same starting side for the All Blacks' crucial rematch against Argentina, saying the way in which last week's loss in Christchurch played out justifies the small adjustments he's made.
Foster has stuck with the same run-on side for Saturday's Test in Hamilton after last week's 25-18 defeat - the All Blacks' first loss to Los Pumas on New Zealand soil.
However, Foster told media on Thursday he backed the starting XV to produce a similar opening this week after they carved out a 15-12 lead at halftime in the Garden City, adding work on discipline should make Emiliano Boffelli's boot less impactful.
"When you're looking at the game and looking at the first 50-odd minutes, you're thinking that group had a good enough base for that game and we should have been good to push through and win it. We weren't," Foster said.
"We kept them in the game with some inaccuracies at the offside line which was frustrating and they went 3-6-9-12 to stay in the hunt.
"But [at the start of the game], I thought the scrum was strong, the lineout functioned really well, we were seeing the kicking space really well, we were actually doing a whole lot of good stuff and we're backing that."
With that in mind, Foster has instead made adjustments to his bench for Saturday with Dane Coles called in as the reserve hooker ahead of Codie Taylor.
Foster admitted the Crusader hooker's recent string of poor form, including a rough night at the office in Christchurch particularly at lineouts, played a role in the change.
"I don't think Codie was at his best and he'd admit that," Foster said.
"We've got a lot of faith in him and he's a quality rugby player but sometimes it's the right thing to take him out and let him work hard on things behind the scenes."
Elsewhere, Retallick has been brought in for an NPC-bound Tupou Vaa'i after a successful return with Hawke's Bay last week from his fractured cheekbone.
"In Brodie's case, he's more a 'return to play' more than anything," the coach said.
"It's tough on Tupou because he didn't get on the field [last week] but he's a guy we've got a lot of time for."
Another change in the reserve forwards sees Dalton Papalii come in for Akira Ioane as loose forwards cover while Beauden Barrett also replaces a Blues teammate with his return on the bench ahead of Stephen Perofeta.
"We've been desperate to give [Papalii] some game time so he's clearly a guy we've got a lot of confidence in and it gives him a chance to get some minutes," Foster said.
SHARE ME