Rugby Champs

All Blacks ‘can do better’ than 57-0

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Rieko Ioane runs through Raymond Rhule in Albany

Assistant coach Ian Foster says the All Blacks are determined to improve on their eight-try performance against the Springboks in Albany. JON CARDINELLI reports.

The All Blacks hammered the Boks 57-0 in Albany three weeks ago. Afterwards, Bok coach Allister Coetzee described the contest as the ‘perfect storm’; a game in which everything went right for the All Blacks and everything went wrong for the Boks.

Could the All Blacks have played any better than they did in Albany? And what does the answer to this question mean for the coming clash between two of rugby’s fiercest foes at Newlands?

Foster set the media straight on Tuesday. The All Blacks have already won the Rugby Championship, yet they believe that they have much to gain from the next match against the Boks.

Foster responded with an emphatic ‘No’ when asked if the All Blacks had produced an 80-minute performance in Albany.

‘That was a special game. But if we’re honest, we haven’t produced an 80-minute performance yet [in this year’s tournament].

‘The first 40 minutes of the Test against the Wallabies in Sydney were special, the next 30 were forgettable [the All Blacks went on to win 54-34]. We got out of jail the following week in Dunedin [with the 35-29 win]. We felt that the Boks put us under pressure in the first 40 minutes of that game in Albany. We haven’t put an 80-minute performance together yet and that is something that’s motivating us ahead of the clash at Newlands.’

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The All Blacks have won 90% of their matches since 2012. They have won five Rugby Championships during that time frame, as well as a World Cup title.

Some might say that the No 1 team in the world has nothing left to prove. Foster, however, said that the opposite is true and that the New Zealanders have their own ideas of success.

‘The world may define success by wins and losses. We define success differently,’ he said.

‘Take the second half against Argentina in Buenos Aires for example,’ Foster explained. The All Blacks led 29-3 at the break but lost their way in the second stanza and emerged 36-10 winners.

‘Can we get better? That is what we ask ourselves. The answer is yes. That’s what drives us.’

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The Boks believe that they have what it takes to test the All Blacks at Newlands this Saturday. Coetzee said on Monday that the hosts would pursue with their all-out running approach.

‘They have shown a lot of desire to play. It’s a high-risk, high-reward approach. We have to make sure they don’t get the rewards this weekend,’ said Foster.

‘They’ve made changes to their approach this year, but then so have we. As you’ve seen, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for us these past few weeks. We have to get things right this Saturday.’

Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images