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All Blacks coach Ian Foster is in isolation at home after testing positive for Covid-19 ahead of the first test in Ireland.
The All Blacks have been thrown into a tailspin by Covid with three of their coaches, including head coach Ian Foster and a pair of midfielders who were hit by the virus during the week of the first Test in July against Ireland.
The team announced Monday that head coach Ian Foster and head assistant John Plumtree had both tested positive for Covid-19 and were in isolation at home. A few hours later, they said assistant coach Scott McLeod had also tested positive.
The timing around symptoms and results for Foster and Plumtree is unknown, but it is clear that she and McLeod, who tested positive around noon Monday, will be out for Saturday’s Eden Park opener.
As a result of the disruptions, Foster confirmed he had decided to bring in Joe Schmidt, Ireland’s former head coach-to-be, to bolster the All Blacks’ resources this week. the test.
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Midfielders David Havili and Jack Goodhue also tested positive, the All Blacks announced, and were also not with the team in Auckland. Crusaders center Braydon Ennor has joined the squad in Auckland as a replacement.
stuff understands that the All Blacks are nervous about further disruption to their resources, with the potential for other members of the group to join the defectors. They confirmed during a media standup Monday that there were three players who had to sign Covid, and extra precautions they were taken.
The positives are a major blow to the All Blacks as they prepare for the first of three tests against Ireland at a sold-out Eden Park on Saturday. The Irish have won three of their last five caps against the New Zealanders and dominated their last game, 29-20 in Dublin last November.
The All Blacks had set up camp in Northland last week, but the loss of their three most senior coaches threatens to jeopardize their preparations.
With Foster, Plumtree and McLeod all set for the week, the All Blacks will be in the hands of remaining coaches Greg Feek and Brad Mooar, who will now have Schmidt to aid their test preparations.
“Joe is coming in for practice on Tuesday and Thursday this week, and we’re very grateful for his help,” said Foster.
“We have plans for these kinds of disruptions and we have backup plans and people on standby. Joe was one of those people we could rely on.”
The veteran head coach will join the All Blacks lineup as a selector after this series and has worked with the Blues throughout their Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Foster said he was confident in the team’s ability to prepare for the first test without the absences lasting too long.
“It’s a great opportunity for the wider coaching group and the older players, who will be very motivated to step up,” he said.
“We have learned to deal with the unexpected, as everyone has done in recent years. I will continue to work with the coaches and the team via Zoom and I have enormous confidence in the coaching group and the players.
“We have structures and everyone works together.”
The loss of likely first-choice No 12 Havili and Goodhue is less of a blow, with plenty of midfield options within the squad.
Chiefs improver Quinn Tupaea, who appeared in seven tests in 2021, now looms as a likely starter in the second five for the first test in Ireland, with newcomer Roger Tuivasa-Sheck the other option.
Blues star Rieko Ioane is the nailed-down starter at number 13, with Goodhue considered a banking candidate at best.