Rugby World Cup 2023 – Ian Foster (New Zealand) before the Blues: “I still believe in the plan”

Outdated those blacks, really? Since the historic defeat of the Men in Black by world champions South Africa last Friday at Twickenham (35-7)Little doubt swept the planet of rugby about their true form. However, the distrust of the New Zeds reacted at the Stade de France, as the new winners of the rugby championship have not been shabby for four weeks.

And in the ranks of the New Zealand national team, confidence still exists, such as coach Ian Foster, who did not appear to be extremely concerned, despite the disappointing match for his men in London. “We are not panicking about this result. We knew we would be challenged. Admittedly it is not the result we wanted but I still believe in the plan.”

You can imagine Ian Foster not going any further with this famous scheme, but it will be curious to see what the Blacks are preparing behind the scenes for the most anticipated match in four years. “This meeting we needed. We’ll make sure we make good use of it in two weeks.” Announce again.

Diminished but vindictive

Against the Bucks, the Blacks were penalized 14 times, and spent most of the first half defending their camp against a South African attack. “In many ways, it was the perfect storm. We had seven players who hadn’t played for four weeks. They needed this game. We were a bit stumbling and frankly South Africa were great and put us under pressure in the areas they wanted.”

The arrival of three-time world champions (1987, 2011, 2015) to Saint-Denis has also diminished after the fight against Boks, especially on the front line where the absence of George Bauer, who was badly injured in the knee with the Crusaders and pack to compete, has already weakened the selection of the Ferns. . At Twickenham it was Ethan de Groot who complained about his knee and left his team mates after gritting his teeth for twenty minutes.

If he keeps his place according to the New Zealand media, the concern is stronger on the other hand for Torel Lomax, his friend on the right, who could miss the opener due to a deep cut to the knee (30 stitches anyway!)).

Finally, what about Brody Retalik and Shannon Frisell, who were absent from the last and perhaps very fair pre-match on September 8th? The only good news for Ian Foster at the start of the week has to do with Scott Barrett, which has not been commented by the Independent Disciplinary Committee despite being shown a red card at Twickham Stadium. He added, “We are confident that it was not that way against South Africa, and I know that we took a good blow, but we do not hide it.”