FOSTER - NOW GONE 🎉 - congrats kiwis

[Gumboot]

Dane Coles - "We’re missing something at the moment. I don’t have the magic thing for it but there’s something that needs to change from the whole group at the moment because it’s not good enough.”

Ardie Savea - “We’ve also got to question our mana and heart. We talked about starting well and the Irish came and scored within the first five minutes again. That’s not up to our standards. We’ve got to try and get out of the trenches and put some pride back in the black jersey because it’s probably not there at the moment.”

Anyone else think Foster may be close to losing the shed?

[Guy Smiley]

I’ll come back to that but first,


a box kick.

[Ymx]

[Ymx]

God that was a diabolical presser. No doubt Foster thought it went well.

I’m not going to talk about that, just the match

Ireland are a great side. It’s wrong to focus on how bad we are

Lots of things to go through and work on

[Gumboot]

The All Blacks have abruptly cancelled All Blacks coach Ian Foster’s scheduled Sunday press conference after the series defeat to Ireland.

Foster was slated to attend his regular late Sunday morning briefing in Wellington where he was expected to be quizzed about whether he is still the right coach to take the All Blacks forward.

But, as the media assembled at the team’s Wellington hotel, the press engagement was cancelled...

...No official reason has been given for the cancelling of the press briefing.

Running scared...

[Guy Smiley]

https://thespinoff.co.nz/sports/17-07-2 ... all-blacks

Last night, Spinoff editor Mad Chapman asked Scotty Stevenson to write about the All Blacks’ loss to Ireland. He responded with this.

Dear Mad,

Thank you for kindly requesting 800 words on the All Blacks’ first home series loss since 1994. I am very humbled that you would want any, and so many, words from me about the current state of affairs, but I am afraid it’s just not possible.

For starters I am not entirely sure what you would like me to say. Would you like me to go all the way back to Eden Park, which seems an eternity ago now given the surreal events of the last two weeks, or would you like me to provide a detailed breakdown of the third test during which the home side spectacularly collapsed under its own weight, becoming not so much All Black as All Black hole?

The latter would certainly be easy. I could mention the fourth minute penalty conceded by Sam Cane for an early tackle on Josh van der Flier which led directly to Ireland’s first try. Or I could talk about the eighth minute lineout failure, or two others inside the opening quarter which certainly set the tone of the rest of the match. On the subject of lineouts we could discuss the drive defence, which seemed about as organised as a toddlers’ disco and allowed Ireland to score their second try in the 27th minute. I could talk about the 36th minute lineout loss on attack, swiftly capitalised upon by the Irish who went under the bar for a third try a minute later.

I could do that, but what a yawnfest for you and for me. It would be much more exciting to discuss the home side’s third quarter comeback, during which Ardie Savea, Akira Ioane and Will Jordan all scored tries befitting their prodigious talents, but that would only serve to illustrate something that has become patently obvious over the last two seasons, which is of course that this All Blacks team looks and plays like a collection of individuals, bereft of the cohesion and harmony that has long been a hallmark of all great sides.

Compare and contrast with The Tears of Peter O’Mahoney, which is both a catchy name for a Celtic ballad, and evidence of the genuine and bone deep soul of the Irish team.

Anyway, all of this is to say I really can’t write this for you because I suspect you are after one of those pithy player critiques, and don’t think for a second you’ll find me criticising the effort of the New Zealand players. I’ve been around this game long enough to know that you just don’t go there. Effort is not the issue. It never is. But trust, on the other hand… Does this look like a team that trusts what it is doing out there? Beauden Barrett is playing with all the joy of an accountancy conference, and so many of the penalties conceded over the last two weeks are straight out of the President’s Grade Dumbfuckery Handbook (A funny enough read, but hardly what one would consider high art).

No, to hell with this! Even if I tried to do it, I would inevitably have to shuffle out to the shed and grab that favourite axe of mine, resigning myself to spending invaluable time, and whatever words remained, grinding it. And who needs that on such a fine and crisp winter’s morning? Not me! I have no desire to revisit the harebrained arrogance of the New Zealand national body which has, over the last decade, decimated club rugby, killed the National Provincial Championship, homogenised Super Rugby, burned Australia, Argentina and South Africa (And guess which nation’s clubs now play regularly against teams from the latter?) and told all who would listen, and many who didn’t really care, how much they were worth.

Maybe next time, if you were interested, I could write something about what happens when you package up 120 years of respected representative sporting success, call it a brand, and sell it off to Oxbridge dudebro buddies in an act of ego-inflating, nausea-inducing corporate capriciousness. Now that would be a read.

In the meantime, there’s nothing that can be said other than once upon a time, innovation underpinned the game here in New Zealand. All Blacks teams consistently imposed their tactical superiority on others, convinced (and rightly so) that an abundance of athletic and technical ability existed within the nation’s broad church of styles. That broad church has been reduced to a cult, a one-size-fits-all approach informed not by variety but by reactionary methodology and protectionist ideology. How fitting that the team that spooked New Zealand Rugby so badly in 2016 returned this month to shout “Boo!”

Anyway, we all have our bad days, and unfortunately you’ve got me on one so, again, I thank you for the request, but I’ll have to politely decline.

Best,

S

[Gumboot]

It's a start...

New Zealand Rugby will undertake an immediate review into the All Blacks’ series defeat against Ireland following performances chief executive Mark Robinson has deemed “unacceptable”.

In a statement, Robinson said: “Congratulations to the Irish team for their well-deserved win last night but clearly the performance across the series for the All Blacks was not acceptable as we know they have reflected. We all know there is a huge amount of work to do.

“Our focus now is to work with Ian and his team to understand thoroughly in advance of the Rugby Championship what is needed to improve performance and where to from here. We will begin this work immediately.”

[Guy Smiley]

I'm not impressed, as an opening statement in a debate NZR appear willing to avoid, it feels more like a cop out.

If it walks like a weasel...

[Kiwias]

Being the eternal optimist, I was discussing with a mate who I thought would not be in the RWC2023 squad if Razor is appointed coach.

Tu'ungafasi
Tuinukuafe
Coles
Taylor
Whitelock
Retallick
Cane
Ioane (A)
A Smith
BB

The ABs need to drag in a bunch of younger players now and play them consistently. Actually, they needed to do it in early-2020, immediately after the World Cup.

[Ymx]

It's a start...

New Zealand Rugby will undertake an immediate review into the All Blacks’ series defeat against Ireland following performances chief executive Mark Robinson has deemed “unacceptable”.

In a statement, Robinson said: “Congratulations to the Irish team for their well-deserved win last night but clearly the performance across the series for the All Blacks was not acceptable as we know they have reflected. We all know there is a huge amount of work to do.

“Our focus now is to work with Ian and his team to understand thoroughly in advance of the Rugby Championship what is needed to improve performance and where to from here. We will begin this work immediately.”

“Work with Ian”

Entirely suggests he’s staying

[Wilson's Toffee]

Maybe you can fire Foster, hire Alistair Coetzee ....

[boere wors]

It's a start...

New Zealand Rugby will undertake an immediate review into the All Blacks’ series defeat against Ireland following performances chief executive Mark Robinson has deemed “unacceptable”.

In a statement, Robinson said: “Congratulations to the Irish team for their well-deserved win last night but clearly the performance across the series for the All Blacks was not acceptable as we know they have reflected. We all know there is a huge amount of work to do.

“Our focus now is to work with Ian and his team to understand thoroughly in advance of the Rugby Championship what is needed to improve performance and where to from here. We will begin this work immediately.”

“Work with Ian”

Entirely suggests he’s staying

Sounds like he is staying for TRC. If the team doesnt perform there, he is gone.

[Grandpa]

Foster set to stay... Schmidt given new role...

Ian Foster won't be sacked but bigger role looms for Joe Schmidt in All Blacks shakeup

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all ... ks-shakeup

Disgruntled All Blacks fans clamouring for a coaching change are set to be disappointed.

Ian Foster won’t be dumped as head coach, but expect a significant role for Joe Schmidt, and a potential change of captain.

NZ Rugby is reviewing the All Blacks after the dispiriting series defeat to Ireland. Foster is understood to have met with NZR chief executive Mark Robinson on Tuesday and the topic is set to be discussed at a board meeting in Wellington on Wednesday.

However, Foster’s head won’t roll - at this stage.

[Niegs]

Pointless. Would be too many cooks in the kitchen, no? Schmidt unable to fully do it his way with Foster still in charge OR he takes over and undermines Foster, who'd likely completely lose the players.

[Gumboot]

Pointless. Would be too many cooks in the kitchen, no? Schmidt unable to fully do it his way with Foster still in charge OR he takes over and undermines Foster, who'd likely completely lose the players.

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me if Foster's already lost the shed. And why would Schmidt want to work with under-achievers like Plumtree and McLeod? Those two, along with Foster, were absent with Covid in the lead up to our first test win. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, sounds like Foster's safe for now...probably until we get smashed by the Boks and also lose the Bledisloe Cup. With this clown at the wheel, we're on a road to nowhere.

[fishfoodie]

Pointless. Would be too many cooks in the kitchen, no? Schmidt unable to fully do it his way with Foster still in charge OR he takes over and undermines Foster, who'd likely completely lose the players.

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me if Foster's already lost the shed. And why would Schmidt want to work with under-achievers like Plumtree and McLeod? Those two, along with Foster, were absent with Covid in the lead up to our first test win. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, sounds like Foster's safe for now...probably until we get smashed by the Boks and also lose the Bledisloe Cup. With this clown at the wheel, we're on a road to nowhere.

Plumtree was a forwards coach for Schmidt, when he was coaching Ireland !

I wouldn't hold Schmidt out as a Messiah for NZ, but there are certainly things he can do, to fix some of the obvious current problems.

He got Ireland's defense, as good as it is, & he is brilliant at providing organization, so players know where to be, & what to do; & also working with the younger players, telling them what they need to work on.

The problem is that he is too OCD, & when it comes to attack, his sides become too predictable, & that was his Ireland teams downfall.

[Grandpa]

Pointless. Would be too many cooks in the kitchen, no? Schmidt unable to fully do it his way with Foster still in charge OR he takes over and undermines Foster, who'd likely completely lose the players.

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me if Foster's already lost the shed. And why would Schmidt want to work with under-achievers like Plumtree and McLeod? Those two, along with Foster, were absent with Covid in the lead up to our first test win. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, sounds like Foster's safe for now...probably until we get smashed by the Boks and also lose the Bledisloe Cup. With this clown at the wheel, we're on a road to nowhere.

Plumtree was a forwards coach for Schmidt, when he was coaching Ireland !

I wouldn't hold Schmidt out as a Messiah for NZ, but there are certainly things he can do, to fix some of the obvious current problems.

He got Ireland's defense, as good as it is, & he is brilliant at providing organization, so players know where to be, & what to do; & also working with the younger players, telling them what they need to work on.

The problem is that he is too OCD, & when it comes to attack, his sides become too predictable, & that was his Ireland teams downfall.

So Plumtree should know everything about what needs to be done to make NZ competitive at the breakdown again... so why is it not happening? It must be because Foster wants an alternative method... even if it isn't working.

[Ymx]

Robinson is a terrible CEO.

Sneakily re appointing Foster
Accepting the failures from November
Sucked in to Silverlake deal
Ruined rugby negotiations with SANZAAR
Accepting the Ireland unprecedented historic tour loss with weak statement
Permitting the hiding from press
Now this stupid deck chair shuffle

[fishfoodie]

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me if Foster's already lost the shed. And why would Schmidt want to work with under-achievers like Plumtree and McLeod? Those two, along with Foster, were absent with Covid in the lead up to our first test win. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, sounds like Foster's safe for now...probably until we get smashed by the Boks and also lose the Bledisloe Cup. With this clown at the wheel, we're on a road to nowhere.

Plumtree was a forwards coach for Schmidt, when he was coaching Ireland !

I wouldn't hold Schmidt out as a Messiah for NZ, but there are certainly things he can do, to fix some of the obvious current problems.

He got Ireland's defense, as good as it is, & he is brilliant at providing organization, so players know where to be, & what to do; & also working with the younger players, telling them what they need to work on.

The problem is that he is too OCD, & when it comes to attack, his sides become too predictable, & that was his Ireland teams downfall.

So Plumtree should know everything about what needs to be done to make NZ competitive at the breakdown again... so why is it not happening? It must be because Foster wants an alternative method... even if it isn't working.

Yep, & equally, Plumtree would have watched plenty of videos of NH refs, & worked out where the lines were with the main refs, & coached players on how far they can push, & what are particular refs bugbears.

In the Ireland setup, he'd have also worked with his equivalents in the Provincial setups, to make sure the important work didn't only happen in the National camps.

[Gumboot]

Which begs the question, why has the ABs pack regressed so much under Plumtree? This is his third year in the job, but he's still talking about the need for improved physicality. The lineout's a mess. We're getting beaten at the breakdown with embarrassing regularity. Our regular front-rowers like Taylor, Laulala, Ofa and Karl T keep getting picked when it's obvious their best days are long gone. And he still has no idea what our best loose forward combo is...

Won't happen, but this entire coaching group deserves to get shitcanned imho.

[Camroc2]

Pointless. Would be too many cooks in the kitchen, no? Schmidt unable to fully do it his way with Foster still in charge OR he takes over and undermines Foster, who'd likely completely lose the players.

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me if Foster's already lost the shed. And why would Schmidt want to work with under-achievers like Plumtree and McLeod? Those two, along with Foster, were absent with Covid in the lead up to our first test win. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, sounds like Foster's safe for now...probably until we get smashed by the Boks and also lose the Bledisloe Cup. With this clown at the wheel, we're on a road to nowhere.

Plumtree was a forwards coach for Schmidt, when he was coaching Ireland !

I wouldn't hold Schmidt out as a Messiah for NZ, but there are certainly things he can do, to fix some of the obvious current problems.

He got Ireland's defense, as good as it is, & he is brilliant at providing organization, so players know where to be, & what to do; & also working with the younger players, telling them what they need to work on.

The problem is that he is too OCD, & when it comes to attack, his sides become too predictable, & that was his Ireland teams downfall.

He also had the reputation, in ireland, of not suffering fools gladly wrt rugby matters. So demarcation lines better be strong.

[Guy Smiley]

I hate it hit when Mark Reason says what I’ve been thinking…

https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-b ... pp-android


That’s a…. well, a pointed article.

[Thor Sedan]

I hate it hit when Mark Reason says what I’ve been thinking…

https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-b ... pp-android


That’s a…. well, a pointed article.

Dammit.......Reason is spitting truth.....dammit x 2

Cane - definitely should go. But lets not forget what he offered NZ in his prime. He should leave with a handshake - not a slap in the face. The more that emerges about Foster - his decisions on selection, tactics and personnel - is it a situation that can be turned around? I really don't think it is.

But there is no way that the creaking dinosaur that is NZR will change overnight. This will take years to sort out. The opportunity to change it was when Hansen stepped down and the new coach was put in place. And now NZ rugby fans have to put up with mediocre results (at best) for the foreseeable future.

I just hope that we don't lose the services of the good coaches to other nations - I can't imagine they will hang around for much longer.

[Slick]

https://thespinoff.co.nz/sports/17-07-2 ... all-blacks

Last night, Spinoff editor Mad Chapman asked Scotty Stevenson to write about the All Blacks’ loss to Ireland. He responded with this.

Dear Mad,

Thank you for kindly requesting 800 words on the All Blacks’ first home series loss since 1994. I am very humbled that you would want any, and so many, words from me about the current state of affairs, but I am afraid it’s just not possible.

For starters I am not entirely sure what you would like me to say. Would you like me to go all the way back to Eden Park, which seems an eternity ago now given the surreal events of the last two weeks, or would you like me to provide a detailed breakdown of the third test during which the home side spectacularly collapsed under its own weight, becoming not so much All Black as All Black hole?

The latter would certainly be easy. I could mention the fourth minute penalty conceded by Sam Cane for an early tackle on Josh van der Flier which led directly to Ireland’s first try. Or I could talk about the eighth minute lineout failure, or two others inside the opening quarter which certainly set the tone of the rest of the match. On the subject of lineouts we could discuss the drive defence, which seemed about as organised as a toddlers’ disco and allowed Ireland to score their second try in the 27th minute. I could talk about the 36th minute lineout loss on attack, swiftly capitalised upon by the Irish who went under the bar for a third try a minute later.

I could do that, but what a yawnfest for you and for me. It would be much more exciting to discuss the home side’s third quarter comeback, during which Ardie Savea, Akira Ioane and Will Jordan all scored tries befitting their prodigious talents, but that would only serve to illustrate something that has become patently obvious over the last two seasons, which is of course that this All Blacks team looks and plays like a collection of individuals, bereft of the cohesion and harmony that has long been a hallmark of all great sides.

Compare and contrast with The Tears of Peter O’Mahoney, which is both a catchy name for a Celtic ballad, and evidence of the genuine and bone deep soul of the Irish team.

Anyway, all of this is to say I really can’t write this for you because I suspect you are after one of those pithy player critiques, and don’t think for a second you’ll find me criticising the effort of the New Zealand players. I’ve been around this game long enough to know that you just don’t go there. Effort is not the issue. It never is. But trust, on the other hand… Does this look like a team that trusts what it is doing out there? Beauden Barrett is playing with all the joy of an accountancy conference, and so many of the penalties conceded over the last two weeks are straight out of the President’s Grade Dumbfuckery Handbook (A funny enough read, but hardly what one would consider high art).

No, to hell with this! Even if I tried to do it, I would inevitably have to shuffle out to the shed and grab that favourite axe of mine, resigning myself to spending invaluable time, and whatever words remained, grinding it. And who needs that on such a fine and crisp winter’s morning? Not me! I have no desire to revisit the harebrained arrogance of the New Zealand national body which has, over the last decade, decimated club rugby, killed the National Provincial Championship, homogenised Super Rugby, burned Australia, Argentina and South Africa (And guess which nation’s clubs now play regularly against teams from the latter?) and told all who would listen, and many who didn’t really care, how much they were worth.

Maybe next time, if you were interested, I could write something about what happens when you package up 120 years of respected representative sporting success, call it a brand, and sell it off to Oxbridge dudebro buddies in an act of ego-inflating, nausea-inducing corporate capriciousness. Now that would be a read.

In the meantime, there’s nothing that can be said other than once upon a time, innovation underpinned the game here in New Zealand. All Blacks teams consistently imposed their tactical superiority on others, convinced (and rightly so) that an abundance of athletic and technical ability existed within the nation’s broad church of styles. That broad church has been reduced to a cult, a one-size-fits-all approach informed not by variety but by reactionary methodology and protectionist ideology. How fitting that the team that spooked New Zealand Rugby so badly in 2016 returned this month to shout “Boo!”

Anyway, we all have our bad days, and unfortunately you’ve got me on one so, again, I thank you for the request, but I’ll have to politely decline.

Best,

S

That's very good.

[JM2K6]

Very pleased to see the return of the classic Root & Branch Review - just disappointed Rob Andrew wasn't asked to do it.

[Ymx]

You are fucking kidding me!!!

All Blacks coach Ian Foster vows to fight on: 'I'm strong, I'm resilient'
David Long

’I’m the head coach’: Ian Foster remains defiant but says he considered stepping down
Sam Cane backed as captain for the Rugby Championship
Foster hints at changes among support staff but won’t expand
Joe Schmidt’s new job as selector will not be expanded into a coaching role, at this stage
Only two changes to squad, with Ethan de Groot and Shannon Frizell coming in
Under fire All Blacks coach Ian Foster admitted he considered standing down after the disappointing series loss to Ireland, but has decided he wants to stay on.

Foster fronted the media at an Auckland Airport on Friday, speaking for the first time since the post match press conference in Wellington on Saturday night.

During an initial address, Foster stated he was ‘strong’ and ‘resilient’ and doesn’t want to walk away.

“As a head coach, there have been a lot of questions the past couple of weeks,” Foster said.


RICKY WILSON/Stuff
All Blacks coach Ian Foster says he’s accountable for what happens with the team.
“Let me tell you who I am, I’m strong, I’m resilient, I think I’ve proven that.


ADVERTISEMENT
“I believe I’ve got a great feel and relationship with my players. I’m strategic and I’m also accountable and I take that on board.

“I promise you, I understand that and I’m really excited about the chance to show you what this team is made of, working alongside the players we’ve selected in this squad.”

ADVERTISEMENT
Confirming that he did consider his future as All Blacks coach, Foster said feeling the heat is part and parcel of the role.

“There’s no about that I’m under pressure,” he said.

MORE FROM
DAVID LONG • SENIOR SPORTS WRITER
david.long@stuff.co.nz
“But can I just say, I’m always under pressure? I’ve always felt that pressure and external people will try to intensify that pressure but it doesn’t change the fact that as an All Blacks coach you live in that world all the time.


RICKY WILSON/Stuff
Foster says there will be changes inside the All Blacks but he hasn’t revealed them.
“Does it hurt? Yes it does. The key thing for me is making sure everything I do is about insuring we have robust processes and make sure we have got the right people sitting in the right seats.”

Foster confirmed there would be changes inside the All Blacks, but wouldn’t go into any details of what they would be.

But he did address the messy situation which occurred in Wellington on Sunday, when his press conference was cancelled at short notice. All Blacks communications manager Jo Malcolm said it was her call, to protect Foster from media who “wanted blood”.

Foster insisted that the cancellation wasn’t something he did, stating he understood the responsibilities that go along with being an All Blacks coach, which includes speaking to the public through the media.

“I understand the frustration (about the cancelled press conference),” he said.

“All I want to say on that regard is that I as a head coach would never ever not communicate with my fanbase when it’s expected I communicate with them.

“I know my responsibility is to talk to the fanbase and if I knew I was supposed to to that, I would do that all the time.”

Since the loss in Wellington, calls have been growing among the public for Foster to go, with Crusaders coach Scott Robertson the popular choice to be his replacement.

Foster hasn’t been burying his head in the sand the past week, he’s heard what people have said, but still believes he’s the right man for the job.


RICKY WILSON/Stuff
A huge number of the New Zealand media came to Auckland Airport on Fridat to hear Ian Foster speak.
“I love the passion of our fans and I love the opinions,” he said.

“That is what it is, but I guess all I can assure people is the person that I am and my role in this team.

“I’m not here for any other reason than to do the best I can for this team. Right now, I can understand frustrations that we’ve lost a series, but my job is to put perspective around that, to make sure we take the lessons and this All Blacks team comes out stronger, I want to be part of the solution.

“Will there be some changes? Yes there will, but like I said, I’ll let you know shortly.”


ADVERTISEMENT
For some who never wanted Foster to get the job in the first place, it could be said they’ve revelled in the All Blacks failing under him. Foster was asked if he felt there were people who want him to fail.

“I’m kind of the Covid coach aren’t I?” He said.

“I don’t know, I can’t control anyone else’s agendas.

“I’ve never seen this as a popularity contest, like I said, the All Black coach is about connecting with a group of players, believing in them and you’ve always got to test to see if you’re the right person. I believe I am.

“But the comment I made about being resilient, well I’ve learnt that pretty quickly.”

Meanwhile, Foster confirmed that Joe Schmidt has now officially come on board with the All Blacks.

“There is lots of talk about Joe’s role, but Joe’s role is as was flagged six months ago,” Foster said.

“He’s come in as the independent selector, he also has a secondary role as being an opposition analysis for me, like an opposition head coach and he is working with me behind the scenes on the strategic areas we feel we need to move.

“He’s not travelling with us and at this stage hasn’t got an on the field role, but he is working hard with me in particular on the strategic areas of our game.”

[Ymx]

We are at stage 3 cancer.

Surgeon still refusing to operate, but has offered some Panadol.

Stage 4 by the end of the RC.

[lemonhead]

Pointless. Would be too many cooks in the kitchen, no? Schmidt unable to fully do it his way with Foster still in charge OR he takes over and undermines Foster, who'd likely completely lose the players.

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me if Foster's already lost the shed. And why would Schmidt want to work with under-achievers like Plumtree and McLeod? Those two, along with Foster, were absent with Covid in the lead up to our first test win. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, sounds like Foster's safe for now...probably until we get smashed by the Boks and also lose the Bledisloe Cup. With this clown at the wheel, we're on a road to nowhere.

Plumtree was a forwards coach for Schmidt, when he was coaching Ireland !

I wouldn't hold Schmidt out as a Messiah for NZ, but there are certainly things he can do, to fix some of the obvious current problems.

He got Ireland's defense, as good as it is, & he is brilliant at providing organization, so players know where to be, & what to do; & also working with the younger players, telling them what they need to work on.

The problem is that he is too OCD, & when it comes to attack, his sides become too predictable, & that was his Ireland teams downfall.

Don't think Leinster did? Always felt he took on the national team job, went through one failed world cup cycle and later adopted a style he thought utilised and complemented Irish player strengths while mitigating any weaknesses. Side effect was a fairly strict gameplan but it won us a slam, a SH series, a repeat defeat of NZ and possibly our best ever RWC showing had tournament been a year earlier.

Farrell & Catt subsequently evolved from there, learning directly from his mistakes but I wonder if removed from top job you'd see the same result here in the short term.

My guess is not, and at any rate Razor would probably be in charge well before that ever came to pass even if it did. You wonder with the political shite whether he'd want top job again, sounds like an effin mare if things turn sour.

[Enzedder]

Will no one rid of me of this turbulent coach?

[Uncle fester]

Agreed. It wouldn't surprise me if Foster's already lost the shed. And why would Schmidt want to work with under-achievers like Plumtree and McLeod? Those two, along with Foster, were absent with Covid in the lead up to our first test win. Coincidence? I think not.

Anyway, sounds like Foster's safe for now...probably until we get smashed by the Boks and also lose the Bledisloe Cup. With this clown at the wheel, we're on a road to nowhere.

Plumtree was a forwards coach for Schmidt, when he was coaching Ireland !

I wouldn't hold Schmidt out as a Messiah for NZ, but there are certainly things he can do, to fix some of the obvious current problems.

He got Ireland's defense, as good as it is, & he is brilliant at providing organization, so players know where to be, & what to do; & also working with the younger players, telling them what they need to work on.

The problem is that he is too OCD, & when it comes to attack, his sides become too predictable, & that was his Ireland teams downfall.

Don't think Leinster did? Always felt he took on the national team job, went through one failed world cup cycle and later adopted a style he thought utilised and complemented Irish player strengths while mitigating any weaknesses. Side effect was a fairly strict gameplan but it won us a slam, a SH series, a repeat defeat of NZ and possibly our best ever RWC showing had tournament been a year earlier.

Farrell & Catt subsequently evolved from there, learning directly from his mistakes but I wonder if removed from top job you'd see the same result here in the short term.

My guess is not, and at any rate Razor would probably be in charge well before that ever came to pass even if it did. You wonder with the political shite whether he'd want top job again, sounds like an effin mare if things turn sour.

Leinster had the Nacewa ace-in-the-hole. Ireland didn't. People forget just how reliant Leinster were on the miracle plays Nacewa used to come up with at a time when BOD and D'Arcy were in decline.

[Grandpa]

We are at stage 3 cancer.

Surgeon still refusing to operate, but has offered some Panadol.

Stage 4 by the end of the RC.

Though he has lost feeling in both his legs and one arm... he is confident he knows what the problem is and can fix it.. though he may need to steal all Razor's assistants to do so...

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/reveal ... N2OT6GLVA/

[Ymx]

Christ. Hope he tells him to F off.

[JM2K6]

Interesting approach. No real change in selection means that all positive change must come from coaching and style of play. Will be a fascinating tournament.

[Grandpa]

Christ. Hope he tells him to F off.

He didn't... he accepted...

Razor will be running out of assistants soon....

[Torquemada 1420]

So what was the Ioane/Marshall incident about?

[Guy Smiley]

So what was the Ioane/Marshall incident about?

Two mouthy fucktards colliding like distant galaxies with a massive release of energy and gas the only result.

[Dan54]

Pointless. Would be too many cooks in the kitchen, no? Schmidt unable to fully do it his way with Foster still in charge OR he takes over and undermines Foster, who'd likely completely lose the players.

Or alternatively , probably the real story, same as reason turned down getting involved before Foster was appointed, he has struggled with coaching at top level because of wanting to be near family, and seems he did find pressure very hard to cope with when in charge of Ireland. Hansen talks of it in his book, he pretty good mates of Schmidt.

[Dan54]

Christ. Hope he tells him to F off.

He didn't... he accepted...

Razor will be running out of assistants soon....

I hope he did, but am struggling to find it confirmed as yet.

[Grandpa]

Christ. Hope he tells him to F off.

He didn't... he accepted...

Razor will be running out of assistants soon....

I hope he did, but am struggling to find it confirmed as yet.

JDogscoop has a personal connection (family friend) to James Ryan... and they gave him permission to post on the forum about it...

[Dan54]

He didn't... he accepted...

Razor will be running out of assistants soon....

I hope he did, but am struggling to find it confirmed as yet.

JDogscoop has a personal connection (family friend) to James Ryan... and they gave him permission to post on the forum about it...

That's interesting, I a fan of Ryan's work at Crusaders, and doesn't give me the impression he is the type that would take on a job with a no hoper, so perhaps he has bit more idea of Foster's abilities than us?