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Phil Gifford: Who should really be accountable for slumping All Blacks
Dejected All Blacks players react after losing to the Springboks at Mbombela Stadium. Photo / Photosport
Opinion by Phil Gifford
Phil Gifford is a Contributing Sports Writer for NZME. He is one of the most-respected voices in New Zealand sports journalism.
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Foster has a major chance of redemption in South Africa, a task that will take every last grain of skill, commitment, and shrewd coaching in the All Blacks camp.
Foster and his captain Sam Cane have basically become piñatas for rugby fans after an Irish series where the All Blacks were so far off the pace even NZR chief executive Mark Robinson called their efforts “not acceptable”.
But if the Springboks win both tests then the guns should not just be turned on the All Blacks coaches and players, but also on how the NZRU picked Foster in the first place.
Five talking points from Ireland’s historic triumph over the All Blacks - July 18
The last chance saloon
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As enraged fans flood the All Blacks’ Facebook page, demanding the sacking of Ian Foster, I’d suggest New Zealand Rugby won’t be firing him so early in the season.
For a start, to do so would be to admit they made a mistake in 2019 when after the World Cup in Japan they chose Foster ahead of Scott Robertson. Mea culpa is not a phrase often heard from rugby officials.
Razor’s options
If, God forbid, the All Blacks go down in South Africa and then lose the Bledisloe Cup, the public pressure to call on Robertson would surely be overwhelming.
But would asking Robertson to step in at crazily short notice be fair to him? He’s not just an electrifying personality, but also a very shrewd selector. However, right now the All Blacks don’t really, as they say, have the cattle. What dramatic changes are really available to him?
Be afraid
Ireland deserve all the praise they’re getting.
They won the series because they were better organised, smarter, stronger and more passionate. When a grizzled veteran like flanker Peter O’Mahony is in tears after the final whistle in Wellington you see how much emotion they brought to the field.
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Six self-inflicted wounds that led to NZ rugby’s current crisis - July 30
New Zealand rugby hasn’t been this divided since 2002, when the chairman, the chief executive and the entire board of the New Zealand Rugby Union had to resign.
If the All Blacks lose in South Africa, and the Wallabies then take the Bledisloe Cup from us, the pressure on the men and women running NZ Rugby will reach the feverish levels of ‘02, when losing the co-hosting rights to the 2003 World Cup sparked a furious backlash.
The current crisis feels like a series of self-inflicted wounds.
One. The strange form of the selection of a new coach after the 2019 World Cup.
Two. The “greedy All Blacks” reaction to the Silver Lake deal.
Three. The “unacceptable” statement.
Four. The NZR leaked internal memo about making no comment on Hansen’s criticism.
Five. Is this the right time to leave the office? [NZR CEO Mark] Robinson is in Birmingham.
Six. Who’s actually running the show?
It’s no surprise NZ Rugby is ‘twitchy’ about Scott Robertson - July 31
We’ve rarely handled eccentricity well in New Zealand sport.
Taking on new attitudes has always been a battle, so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that New Zealand Rugby has been twitchy about Scott Robertson, a man who doesn’t so much march to his own drummer, but to a whole new band.
The experiment with his Crusaders’ coaching colleague Brad Mooar at the All Blacks has ended in tears, but you’d hope the call-up of another Robertson assistant, Jason Ryan, will not. In an odd twist, it may be that Ryan will demonstrate the Robertson way can work at the highest levels.
New Zealand sporting history shows how difficult it can be for a prophet to be honoured in his own country. Our greatest track coach, Arthur Lydiard, whose charges won four Olympic gold (Peter Snell and Murray Halberg) and two bronze (Barry Magee and John Davies) medals, was constantly at loggerheads with athletics officials.
Six issues from the All Blacks’ loss to the Springboks - August 7
Is winning the World Cup next year an impossible dream?
No. It now seems inevitable, unless the All Blacks smash South Africa next weekend, there will be a change of coach before the end of this year. History shows that doesn’t mean the chance of victory in the World Cup vanishes.
Where did the All Blacks let themselves down?
The first area that really hurt came in the air. The Springboks love the kick and chase, and, with the exception of the terrifying moment when wing Kurt-Lee Arendse genuinely risked Beauden Barrett’s life with a shoulder charge while Barrett was high off the ground, they chased with accuracy. Before next weekend’s test, the All Blacks, who have plenty of men usually good under the high ball, need to be taking high bomb after high bomb at training.
The second major problem was in the lack of attacking moves, with the ball usually just being shovelled onto the man outside. The third issue was that when there were switches of direction, there was a lack of accuracy in execution.
Were there any signs of improvement from the All Blacks?
Yes. The Springboks didn’t score from a lineout drive, and made very little ground with attempts at rolling mauls. By and large the All Blacks lineout was very efficient. Anything else? Not really.
