With some of the All Blacks ‘still hurting’ from last year’s loss to Ireland, Ian Foster and his team are already planning how to take down the world’s number-one side. Video / NZ Herald
By Liam Napier in Lyon
Ian Foster apologised for arriving late to his final press conference in Lyon, saying he got distracted in his office deciding which game plan to adopt after Ireland confirmed their presence as the All Blacks’ quarter-final opponents.
While New Zealand’s World Cup focus has only now zeroed in on the threat Ireland pose, the All Blacks’ planning for Ireland began long ago.
Foster’s quip should not be taken literally. There’s zero chance the All Blacks arrive at a World Cup quarter-final unprepared, on a whim.
The All Blacks don’t do casual. They plan everything to the nth degree.
The All Blacks knew they would face South Africa or Ireland in their quarter-final. Foster will now bring forth the Irish dossier.
Ireland claimed their maiden series win in New Zealand last year – to start their 17-test unbeaten surge – because they were meticulously prepared, organised and accurate. They expertly picked apart the All Blacks weak spots – their maul, breakdown and defensive holes - in the second and third tests with Jonathan Sexton pulling the strings.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster shakes hands with Ireland captain Johnny Sexton. Photo / Photosport
In the wake of that home series defeat, Foster remoulded and significantly strengthened his coaching team to launch a major rebuild mission.
This year, well before the All Blacks first test of the season in Mendoza, Foster and his selectors, Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan, travelled north to watch the Six Nations. With the World Cup front of mind the coaching trio attended matches in Dublin and Paris, adding detailed notes to documents that will, some eight months on from that fact-finding venture, shape this week’s quarter-final approach.
“There’s a difference between your scouting planning and your planning when you actually know you’re playing them. When you know 100 per cent you’re looking at their trends the last two or three weeks and pulling all that apart and seeing how that fits with what we knew earlier,” Foster said.
“We’ve got a clear idea about the strengths they bring but seeing them play live helped confirm some of those things. It’s a layer of the painting as you watch more and more games as the year goes on.
Ardie Savea runs in to score against Ireland at Eden Park last year. Photosport
“We know them pretty well. They know us pretty well. There’s no doubt both teams will try and surprise around the edges but the game is going to be about discipline defensively, the intensity at the breakdown and body height and winning corners. We know that about Ireland, and they’ll know that about us too.
“We’ve got massive respect for how they’ve grown the last few years. We’ve been on the receiving end but we’ve also been able to overcome that so it’s a great mental challenge, isn’t it?”
For all the historic feats Ireland have achieved a World Cup semifinal – let alone a maiden crown – remains elusive. This is the moment Andy Farrell’s men have built for the past four years.
A generation of influential figures – from Sexton to Peter O’Mahony, Tadhg Furlong, Josh van der Flier and adopted New Zealanders Bundee Aki, James Lowe and Jamison Gibson Park – won’t get another chance to claim a World Cup.
With a host of veterans and management departing post World Cup, the All Blacks are highly driven too.
“They’ve got a group of players – this is probably their moment. If they’re ever going to win a World Cup they probably feel like it’s now,” Foster said. “We’ve got some players and as a team we’re in the same mode so it’s pretty exciting.
“It’s the stage we want to be on. The fact it’s Ireland, playing well, world No 1, on top of their game, just makes the challenge nice and simple.
“They’ve got their game well sorted. They’re on a massive winning streak and got a clear goal to create history for themselves this tournament and are playing accordingly. They’ll be confident so I kind of love that challenge.”
The All Blacks don’t need to dig into their dossier to know cool heads will be needed against Ireland. O’Mahony last year told Sam Cane “you’re a shit Richie McCaw pal”. Sexton loves to rile his opponents and often clashes with referees, too.
Ireland’s dominant victory against Scotland offered another timely reminder of the vocal jibes they will bring in an attempt to rattle the All Blacks.
“There’s a lot at stake,” Foster said. “That shows in players in different ways. We’ve had a really good focus on our control and how we go about things. That’ll get tested. Whether it’s tested with players who have a crack at you, jersey pull somewhere, a refereeing decision or people in the sides of rucks, those are the things that get people fired up. You’ve got to be bigger than that and control it. We know we’ve got to be disciplined in that space.”
