All Blacks coach Ian Foster praised the “phenomenal” leadership of his senior players after they secured an emphatic 42-19 win over Ireland on Saturday night at Eden Park to open their season in style.
The six-to-three win was far from perfect, with the All Blacks effectively putting the game on ice with a four-try blowout in the second quarter, but it was quite satisfying from where Foster sat after spending the entire build-up in isolation. at his Waikato home.
Foster was one of four New Zealand coaches to be sidelined by Covid-19 for a week, which also saw three players excluded. He and his chief assistant, John Plumtree, both joined the All Blacks alone on match day in Auckland, with the players making it clear all week that they had taken most of the build-up into their own hands.
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All Blacks loose forward Ardie Savea goes in for his second of his two attempts against Ireland at Eden Park.
“It was the first test and it’s good to have a good win in the pocket,” said Foster of a largely impressive effort, bolstered by a great response from his attackers. “We’ve said before that this series was really big for us. If you look at the bigger picture, it’s an opportunity to play against a team that we have a huge amount of respect for, who we know are doing really well and they taking down here for three in a row is pretty special.
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“To start off well with the preparation we’ve had, with bodies after Super Rugby… given the short period of time, we focused just enough to occupy the mind, but not too much to cloud them. In general I am delighted.
“I thought the work of Sam [Cane] and our leaders this week have been phenomenal. They took on a great burden, and [assistant coach] and Brad [Mooar] did a great job on the ground. It was a very unique week and to coach an All Blacks team from Zoom at home and still get married at the end of the week, I am quite happy.”
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Substitute #8 Pita Gus Sowakula celebrates his try-on debut for the All Blacks against Ireland at Eden Park.
But Foster also felt the Irish showed enough in the defeat to confirm they remain a strong contender in this series. They forced the All Blacks to 191 tackles, won nearly 60 percent of the ball and were held up over the New Zealand line three or four times. The second half played out with two attempts each and the home side took on a lot of pressure.
“I thought we saw a very determined Irish team tonight,” added Foster. “They would have glimpsed enough good moments, especially in that first quarter, and the way they ended, to walk away with a little bit of hope.
“Although we were relentless with where we scored points, we were put under a lot of pressure, and especially defensively I would have just given us a pass. I thought our goal-line material was excellent, but we gave them too many chances to get behind us. †
But Foster credited stand-in No. 6 Scott Barrett, who led the All Blacks by 20 tackles, as well as a little dig at the critics who question the wisdom of repeating the World Cup semi-final’s failed experiment. of 2019.
“He’s a good footballer and we thought he was one of Super Rugby’s forwards,” said the coach. “I know most of that form was locked, and a little bit on 6. It was a role that suited us today. He carries well, he defends well and contributes a pretty good set piece .
“He should be quite proud of it. There were some circumstances around the roster, and it certainly accelerated an idea that we had in that space. Hopefully there is now another game that everyone can talk about instead of the other one that they were talking about when he played 6.”
Foster also had no problem with the 42% possession his team had been reduced to on a night when the Irish were under a lot of pressure.
“It’s not a goal we’re chasing,” he said. “Possession isn’t always an indicator of the game you want to play, and probably the 8% we came up short was all those pick-and-gos near the goal line that seemed to go on forever. Overall I think that the way we used our ball today was quite effective and that’s more important to us.”
The two sides both head to Dunedin on Sunday for next Saturday’s second test in the series, with Ireland still chasing their first-ever win in New Zealand.