ANALYSIS: Ian Foster could have breezed through his post-match press conference by chirping about the big digits the All Blacks posted in Lyon.
But he didn’t. Emboldened by his team’s 96-17 impressive win over Italy in the World Cup pool game last Saturday (NZT), the All Blacks coach poked his nose into a topic that has been raked over, debated and analysed for decades.
Do the spectators want to spend their money being entertained by superbly conditioned athletes attempting to use skill, speed and space to break down defences, or do they want these men to narrow their attack by subscribing to the meat-on-bone grunt work prior to shifting the ball wider from the heavy contact areas?
Depending on which part of the world you’re located, conversations on the topic could generate heat. North versus the majority of the south, in other words.
Foster referred to Ireland’s 13-8 win over the Springboks, a blood-and-guts contest that had viewers from all points of the globe glued to the combat, when making the point that the All Blacks produced a “different spectacle”.
“If you look at [that] game, it was a very different game of rugby,” Foster said in reference to the Ireland-Springboks game. “The ball was in play for 27 minutes throughout the whole game. It was a very stop-start game, very physical, very combative.
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All Blacks openside flanker Sam Cane returned from a back injury to take the field as a substitute during the 96-17 win over Italy last weekend.
“You saw a different spectacle tonight [All Blacks versus Italy], and at some point the world has got to decide which game it would rather watch.”
Maybe. If a poll was conducted on the concourses outside the rugby stadiums in France, it would yield a variety of results, determined by their subjects’ passports.
If those people hailed from South Africa, Ireland or England they would refer to the memo that the Springboks’ director of rugby Rassie Erasmus posted on social media in response to Foster’s statement.
Erasmus stated the ball was only in play for an additional two minutes during the All Blacks-Italy fixture. Foster’s observations didn’t wash with him.
Don’t expect the Springboks to move away from their power-game. Not now, or in the foreseeable future.
Ireland aren’t likely to either.
With the All Blacks expected to be their opponent in the quarterfinal in Paris on October 15, the Irish, provided they don’t blow to bits in their final pool game against Scotland, won’t deviate from what they do best.
The question, now, for the All Blacks is how they can use their final pool game against Uruguay on Friday morning (NZT) to prepare for the sudden-death game.
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All Blacks loosehead prop Ethan de Groot won’t be able to return from suspension until the quarterfinal stage of the World Cup.
Discipline
If this wasn’t a World Cup it would be unfair to keep harping on about the Ethan de Groot incident against Namibia, when he got red carded and was later banned for two games, for a high tackle.
It would be of little comfort to de Groot to know his suspension was a grim reminder of how poor technique could have dire consequences for not just the player, but everyone around him.
Let’s move past the fact that the All Blacks were cruising to an easy win when the loosehead prop, who had scored a try within minutes of taking the field as a substitute, got his timing terribly wrong when looking to deliver a brutal shot on a ball carrier.
What really matters is that the All Blacks understand that the incident serves as a reminder of what happens when they give the crowd a reason to react.
Don’t underestimate how much their howls of protest and whistling can motivate the referee to investigate what all the fuss is about.
If a player is red carded in the opening minutes against Uruguay, the All Blacks will probably still win in a canter. It’s what happens at the judiciary that can have serious ramifications.
Especially with a quarterfinal looming.
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Juan Ignacio Brex of Italy is tackled by All Blacks Tyrel Lomax of and Rieko Ioane during the match in Lyon.
Defence
The All Blacks have conceded four tries in their three pool games. Two against France, none against Namibia, and two against Italy.
They would have been disappointed to allow their line to be crossed by the Italians, despite posting 14 tries themselves.
Harsh? Perhaps. But the reality is that the path they are taking leads to a fixture against an Irish team that will be analysing every defensive lapse the All Blacks have made in the last couple of years.
And that shocker in London on August 25, when the Springboks put five tries past them at Twickenham to win 35-7, would have been pored over.
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Lock Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock prepare to add oomph to the All Blacks scrum against Italy.
Add sting to the scrums and lineouts
Can the All Blacks pour more concrete into their set pieces?
Probably. Whether that means they can improve on the remarkable numbers from the Italian game is another matter.
Forwards coach Jason Ryan and scrum mentor Greg Feek must have been tempted to laminate the stats sheet, and tack it to the inside of their suitcases for safekeeping to ensure it never gets lost.
The All Blacks brought so much heat to the set pieces that they made their Six Nations opponents appear as if they had spent the week drinking gallons of red wine and enjoying psilocybin mushrooms.
For the record, the All Blacks made their opponents lose six of their eight scrums. They also plundered five of the Italians’ 11 throws.
It was no surprise, then, that Italy coach Kieran Crowley said he may not bother reviewing the footage ahead of his team’s final game against France.
Sir Steve Hansen, a former All Blacks coach, chipped in by saying on Sky Sport that Italy may want to “flush the dunny and move on’’.
None of that is Foster’s problem.
He’s got less than two weeks to prepare for the biggest game of his life. Ireland are waiting.
