This article originally appeared on Stuff and is reproduced with permission
The start was sensational, but All Blacks coach Ian Foster felt the way his team handled the inevitable South African fightback might have been the most pleasing aspect of Saturday’s 35-20 Rugby Championship victory over the Springboks.
Speaking after a result that all but clinches the championship for the New Zealanders, and gives them a welcome jolt of confidence in the World Cup buildup, Foster said he would take plenty from a second straight standout performance from his side in 2023.
“Just the way we climbed through some ebbs and flows in the game,” he said when asked what pleased him most about a victory based on a brilliant 17-0 opening quarter of an hour.
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“They’re a quality team and we obviously stung them at the start with the tempo we were able to play. I thought our desire to play on top of them early was there and we got good reward for it.
“But they came back. We’ve spoken before about defending leads, and they had a lot of experience on their bench in that third quarter. But I thought we rowed through that, so it’s a good step for us.”
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The All Blacks certainly had to negotiate a tight spot or two as the Boks muscled their way back into the contest, closing to within eight (23-15) with Cheslin Kolbe’s 67th-minute score. But Foster felt a strong closeout of the second half would instil some much-needed confidence in his group.
“Any win over South Africa is pretty special, particularly this South African team, and to deal with the best they had off the bench, and the way we did it, was encouraging, he said.
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“I guess the thing that gives us most confidence is they had a lot of momentum in the second half where they were on top, and rather than losing our way for too long we managed to find a way back.
“That was the part that was really pleasing. If we can keep building that confidence in that part of our game then the first-half stuff will be pretty good.”
Asked if his All Blacks were where he wanted them to be at this stage of a defining year, Foster added: “Two out of two. We said at the start we wanted to focus on the here and now, and this team has learnt if we get distracted by looking too far in the distance we trip ourselves up.
“We have got a lot of growth to do. We are learning let’s just nail each week at a time, not think too much about anything else, and just focus on being as good as we can be right now. That’s been a good formula for us, and has meant we haven’t tried to over-analyse the past or get too excited about the future.”
As for any psychological factor ahead of a potential World Cup quarterfinal matchup against the Boks, the All Blacks coach wasn’t getting too carried away.
“I don’t know … the World Cup is a series of one-off games …. in some ways I don’t think it’s relevant, simply because of the nature of World Cups. Where it is relevant is the confidence you get out of building the blocks in your own game. We’ll take that.
“But you only have to go back to Super Rugby to realise the team that won it lost to the other team twice in the year. But we are delighted about tonight’s game.”
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Foster also had predictably glowing praise for his two individual standouts, loosie Shannon Frizell and wing Will Jordan.
“(Shannon) has taken the challenge on board. It’s a jersey he wants. I was delighted. I thought last week was one of his best tests, and Argentina are a tough team, and he was strong. To do it again this week is pretty special. He should be proud.
“Will Jordan after his break came back and we saw the quality of him. The ball went his way a bit early which was pleasing, and the fact we could get him heavily involved from the wing was also very pleasing.”
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Skipper Sam Cane, who went off at halftime with a neck injury that was not overly serious, was also rapt with a performance that has his team ideally placed two games into the new season. He said the start had been vital as they won the initial collisions, got the ball into space and nullified the visitors’ line-speed somewhat.
“We’re in a pretty good spot. We came in with short preparation but it was great for us as a squad to go to Argentina … it enabled us to come together quite quickly, and to be able to put out two performances we’re pretty proud of. But we’re going to keep searching for ways to improve, so come the right time of the year we’re at our best.”
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