All Blacks coach Foster focused on quelling Boks’ all-around strategy

Trying to strike the right balance between making an impression in July while holding something back for October adds intrigue to Saturday’s Rugby Championship encounter between the All Blacks and Springboks. 

New Zealand’s coach Ian Foster, who was on the brink of getting axed until his team won at Ellis Park in 2022, says both teams are walking a fine line between seeking confidence by winning at Mount Smart Stadium and trying to retain a few secrets for the Rugby World Cup.

“There is a sense that there is a game of chess going on; we play them again at Twickenham [on August 25] and then there is a potential game late on in a World Cup,” Foster said.

“So how much do you show, how much do you not show? In terms of our mindset, we are keeping it nice and simple.”

That August encounter, besides providing an opportunity for Siya Kolisi to get match time, can largely be ignored, because in terms of any strategy for the World Cup neither team will want to show anything. 

Both teams understand the importance of making a statement on Saturday. “If you can outperform them, then you know you are in a good place,” Bok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk remarked. 

Foster named his 23-man side on Thursday, making five changes in the team that beat Argentina in Mandoza, with Richie Mo’unga’s return in the No 10 jersey the most prominent. 

Arguably the most notable absence is veteran lock Sam Whitelock, who Foster said was fit but not considered for selection as part of a “longer term strategy”. 

The form of Scott Barrett made that decision easier and like so many battles across the park, Barrett and Brodie Retalick against Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth — depending on the latter’s availability after the death of his father — will be keenly contested. 

An area where the two sides took different routes was in the composition of their respective reserve units, with the Boks taking what for them has become an accustomed 6-2 split, while the All Blacks have gone 5-3, between forwards and backs.

“[That] 6-2 that has been their strategy for a number of years,” said Foster. “They clearly like adding fresh legs through their pack. 

“We have considered it. A lot depends on your playing group. We think we have a number of players who are really good 80-minute players and if you overload a particular area you end up making a change for the sake of making a change rather than it being the right thing. It suits them, but probably not us at the moment.”

The Bok bench, having taken minutes to get up to speed, made its customary impact at Loftus Versfeld and the group for Saturday’s clash provides plenty of experience and power. 

The All Blacks believe they can counter the physical element with the robust Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho and the Crusaders prop Tamaiti Williams, who stands 1.96m and tips the scales at 144kg, providing plenty of heft. 

Foster conceded his side lost too much rhythm when they used their bench last week, and that area has received plenty of attention in this week’s preparation. “We are talking a lot about that. It is a concern, but not a major concern,” he said. 

Struck by the balance the Springboks found in their attacking play against Australia last week, when they scored six tries including a hat-trick for winger Kurt-Lee Arendse, Foster outlined that their reputation for being one-dimensional was perhaps not warranted. 

“[The Springboks] have the ability to play a number of ways; they can go to the control game, and play the wide game. We can’t pigeonhole their game. We are going to [prepare] for both strategies.”