FOSTER WATCH 2K22! WILL HE STAY OR WILL HE GO!

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Could you feckers please win? You're killing my buzz from the series win.

[Banquo]

great try that

[Banquo]

ferocious fast game- lots of breaks from inzid- Am moving to wing has weakened the defence.

[Banquo]

....but he then runs through clark. soft try from a soft lineout

[Banquo]

10 gifted points in the last 5. coach killers

[Banquo]

epic victory. great game to cheer eugene up.

[Spiffy]

Great game. The Boks threw it away by needless and inaccurate box kicking that just handed the ball back to NZ and allowed their effective counter attack. Daft tactics late in the game.

[Banquo]

Great game. The Boks threw it away by needless and inaccurate box kicking that just handed the ball back to NZ and allowed their effective counter attack. Daft tactics late in the game.

Both sides showed some poor decision making, but it was a great watch. Savea was immense, and Ioane was such a dangerous runner. Although Am ran well- very well- on the wing, as above, their midfield defence was poorer for the shuffle. They moved three positions for one injury, and highlighted one issue with a 6:2 bench. But fair play to the kiwis- at 23-21 and Barrett B carded, it looked all over- great comeback try.

As an aside, the SA backs have a lot to offer, and should (be allowed to) offer it more.

[zer0]

It's nice that we didn't have to plunge the depths of anything like 57-0, but Foster can still jog on.

EDIT: Put another way, 1/4th of Robertson's coaching setup has managed to do a good job of plugging the leaks in his area of expertise after a few weeks. So we can imagine what the full setup might do with a years worth of effort. Sure it may not be RWC winning off that short leadup time, but I think it would be safe to say it would definitely be better that what we've seen since 2020.

[cashead]

As satisfying as that win was, we've been here before with Foster, where a limp performance is followed by one where they deliver a momentous win. But those days are simply too few and far between, and 2 wins from the last 7 isn't all that much greater than 1 win from the last 6. I really don't think this win has been enough to really save his job - especially when it's the kind of response that should've come about 3, 4 weeks ago against Ireland in Wellington.

For the record, I still rate him as a coach - but not as a head coach, but rather, as an assistant or a specialist. There's nothing wrong with being suited to working within a structure.

[cashead]

Make of it what you will. I suspect the decision had already been made.

[zer0]

Nothing happened. He just kicked the can down the road with an announcement of an announcement at an announcement PR bullshittery.

[cashead]

The only thing of note is that the board will meet later in the week and an announcement is to be made.

I get the feeling that he's getting the sack, and this is to get the legal shit all in line and have the prospective assistants (Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland) signed and sealed.

[Cameo]

It's a hard one to read. Foster certainly doesn't sound like he has been told he's going, and won't quit after that. I suspect they are getting rid though as otherwise surely they would have been more categorical in backing him.

The players are apparently behind Foster (in a 'he's a good coach and ihe doesn't deserve the abuse' kind of way) so NZRU won't be helping themselves by stringing it out.

[Cameo]

Oh, and what a game! Great play, mistakes, unbelievable tries...

Am must be one of the best players in the world right now too.

[J Dory]

It was a great game, got to love the drama that comes with a SA NZ test match. I agree Foster should probably go, and going on the back of a win at Ellis Park is just about the best exit he could have hoped for. Want to give a shout out to David Havili, his combination with Mo'unga was huge. Argies spank Aus, roll on Aug. 27, the championship is shaping up nicely.

[cashead]

It's a hard one to read. Foster certainly doesn't sound like he has been told he's going, and won't quit after that. I suspect they are getting rid though as otherwise surely they would have been more categorical in backing him.

The players are apparently behind Foster (in a 'he's a good coach and ihe doesn't deserve the abuse' kind of way) so NZRU won't be helping themselves by stringing it out.

There is a person on Reddit who claims to have some connection to people within the NZRU organisation. To their credit, they correctly predicted exactly what Robinson's presser was going to be about. They're claiming that the decision has already been made, and they're going to announce the change of coach later in the week. Take it for what you will, with an appropriately-sized grain of salt.

I'd say that if they were fixing to retain him, Robinson would have said so, but on the other hand...

Robinson should be made to carry the can for a lot of this turning into a fiasco. He's the face of the organisation that appointed Foster is a flawed process with a "jobz for the boyz" mentality, and he's the face of the organisation that is dragging this shit out. While it's fun to ignore or shout "shut the fuck up" at David Moffett - and fun too! - he does have a point when he puts a lot of the responsibility directly at Robinson's feet.

[cashead]

haha lol, what a fucking shambles.

[Cameo]

He's staying.

Watching that press conference, it was so striking what a mess they have made of it. If they back their man, fine, but their briefings have definitely contributed to everyone thinking he's done.

For the sake of everyone, I hope it is now put to bed until after the World Cup.

[morepork]

Amateur hour. What a joke.

[cashead]

Good lord, Mark Robinson is so useless. He manages to stumble into one Robinson-shaped fuck-up after another like Bob Terwilliger in a carpark full of rakes.

[cashead]

Also, massively increased role for Schmidt, apparently. He goes from being a selector to an advisor to the attack coach. Hopefully this means Foster's role is reduced to whatever the hell it was that he did in the build to the Ellis Park upset, and vaguely pointing at shit and occasionally nodding at people for the press during training, then I can maybe live with it - but if the results don't see an upswing:



Also, my boy Oli Jager's name has been thrown around as a potential call-up too, so hopefully this leads to a sea-change in the front-row.

I love you Ofa, but when you look like shit even next to Tyrel Lomax, it's time to take a step back and think about where you've gone wrong, my man.

[J Dory]

New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 David Havili, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Akira Ioane, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Stephen Perofeta, 23 Quinn Tupaea

[Banquo]

rogered at the breakdown so far, pumas physical and smart. Also wrong side of a poor ref

[paddy no 11]

Brilliant new tactic from nz of turning down easy 3 pointers and going for kicks from 58M