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Springboks Lukhanyo Am and Damien Willemse try to contain All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke during the test in Johannesburg. The All Blacks won 35-23.
Ian Foster says he has “no idea” if he will still be in charge of the All Blacks when they play Argentina in the Rugby Championship match in Christchurch in a fortnight.
Having watched the All Blacks stun the world champion Springboks 35-23 in Johannesburg on Sunday morning, Foster told Sky Sport he was unaware whether he would continue as coach of the team.
During the build-up to the epic victory in front of 62,000 fans at Ellis Park, he had been under great pressure to retain his job after the side had lost five of their last six tests.
“I have no idea, I am just going to enjoy tonight,” Foster told Sky Sport when questioned on if he would still be coaching the All Blacks when they play Argentina.
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Prior to the team leaving for their two tests in South Africa, NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson refused to say whether Foster would still be coach if the All Blacks faltered in the Republic.
After the 26-10 defeat to the Springboks in Mbombela last weekend, the scrutiny on Foster intensified and a loss at Ellis Park may have resulted in NZ Rugby asking Foster if he still believed he was the right man to continue.
Defeats to Ireland and France in November, followed by the 2-1 series loss to Ireland in New Zealand had culminated in Foster having a meeting with his NZ Rugby bosses about the team’s performances prior to the departure to the Republic.
Robinson had labelled the series loss to Ireland as “unacceptable”.
Following the win over the Springboks, Foster said it was a great relief to see the team reverse its fortunes.
“It’s never easy when you are coming off a couple of losses, but so proud,’’ Foster told Sky Sport. “Just so proud of the effort. It’s swings and roundabouts … they hung in and finished strong.’’
Late tries to Scott Barrett and David Havili secured the All Blacks a memorable victory, the former charging over the try line shortly before the final hooter to put the result beyond doubt.
Themba Hadebe/AP
All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock secures lineout ball during the team’s 35-23 win over the Springboks.
The question, now, is whether Foster has done enough to convince NZ Rugby he should be retained in the role as he filled since replacing Sir Steve Hansen after the 2019 World Cup.
Foster said he witnessed enough shifts in the All Blacks’ performance last weekend, to provide him with the confidence that they could cause an upset in the re-match in Jo’burg.
After the game in Mbombela he said, despite the defeat, it was the best performance of the year.
“I know I got a little bit mocked for saying that last week, after the loss, but we made a big shift last week through our forward pack,’’ Foster said.
“The work (forwards coach) Jason Ryan has done out there was strong, and I really felt we were creating a few opportunities. We wanted it so much we were rushing things. Whereas today, we were just more patient.’’
Foster made four changes to the team that started in Mbombela. Bringing Richie Mo’unga into No 10 ahead of Beauden Barrett, who came off the and got yellow carded late in the game for obstruction, assisted in reversing the team’s fortunes.
Props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax produced fine efforts against the Boks pack, and blindside flanker Shannon Frizell also produced a big shift.
Ian Foster has ‘no idea’ if he will remain All Blacks coach after epic win over Springboks & Latest News Update
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