What is Ian Foster like as All Blacks coach? - What the senior leaders think.
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OPINION:
The thunderous selection headache All Blacks coach Ian Foster was hoping to wake up with last Sunday morning never came.
His B-team All Blacks literally dropped the ball in Rome and most of the individuals who were possibilities to be promoted to play against Ireland didn't manage to makethe sort of impression they needed to.
The door wasn't open to many, but there were a few players Foster and his fellow selectors were hoping would produce cohesive and decisive performances to at least open serious debate about their readiness to play Ireland this week.
Top of the list was Quinn Tupaea, the bustling and bruising No 12, who had impressed throughout the year with his powerful running and astute off-loading.
But he didn't produce the required destructive and simple performance to remain a live contender to start at second-five this week and his midfield partner Brendon Ennor slumped off after 60 minutes of rugby that he'd probably rather forget.
Their time may be coming, but it won't be this week in Dublin and instead of having a desperately tough call to make about the make-up of the midfield against Ireland, Foster has been left with no reason to re-think his probable preference of starting with Anton Lienert-Brown and Rieko Ioane.
A commanding performance by Sevu Reece in Rome would have helped push the case to shift Ioane to centre against Ireland.
Reece has been in electric form all year, but so too have Ioane and Will Jordan. Against Wales, Reece started on the bench but when he came on, Ioane shifted to centre, Lienert-Brown to second-five and the backline had a better balance to it.
Reece didn't have his best game in Rome, but was just about lively enough to reassure Foster that he'd be right to stick with his thinking to start him on the left wing against Ireland and Jordan on the right.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster and Sam Cane. Photo / Photosport
In the end, the two players who advanced their cause in Rome were Sam Cane and Dane Coles who played well enough for long enough to make Foster wonder whether both are now back in the sort of form to justify using them in some capacity in Dublin.
When both men joined the team in the USA, Foster had no real expectations about whether either would push themselves into the selection frame for the final two tests of the tour.
Cane had managed just one game since the end of March due to a serious pectoral injury and that had been for King Country in the Heartland Championship.
No one could be certain how quickly Cane would regain his match sharpness after such a long lay-off but after a 30-minute run about in Washington, three weeks of brutal All Blacks training and an 80-minute graft in Rome, Foster's anointed skipper has perhaps reconditioned faster than anyone imagined.
Cane ground his way through 80 minutes at openside against Italy, not majestically or emphatically but with enough evidence that his instincts have returned.
The question Foster will have to ask himself is whether Cane could come on to the bench this week in Dublin and offer the All Blacks the sort of high impact rugby they need from their replacements.
Certainly it will be tempting to pick Cane in that capacity and have his experience and leadership on the field in the final 20 minutes or so of what is likely to be a tight and tense encounter.
The bonus of playing him in Dublin is that it could potentially pave the way for him to start the following week in Paris.
Dane Coles in action against Italy. Photo / Photosport
The same question has to be asked of Coles, who was dynamic and ruthless against Italy. His season has followed a different path to Cane's and while he missed the Rugby Championship because of injury, he'd been heavily involved up until that point.
He's got more rugby in his legs than Cane and so there is probably more confidence that he could contribute a powerful 20 or so minutes against Ireland.
The issue with him is slightly more complex, however, because Samisoni Taukei'aho was called into the side as injury cover back in July and has turned out to be the find of the season.
The Chiefs hooker has been a genuine revelation in 2021, having brought a first class work rate to the test arena which has seen him produce an impressive body of work.
He's an explosive ball carrier, destructive tackler and a superb turnover exponent, while his set-piece work has held up well.
Coles comes with a mountain more experience which may be critical in an intimidating arena such as the Aviva Stadium, but so too will there be a temptation to pick Taukei'aho precisely so he can gain that experience of playing in a big venue against a quality opponent.
Cane and Coles have created a headache of sorts, just not the monster one Foster was hoping for.
