All Blacks head coach Ian Foster. Photo / Jason Oxen
Still reeling from the flurry of dismissals and a panicked attacking display, All Blacks coach Ian Foster remains confident his men can amend concerning issues to save the series against Ireland next week.
Foster largely shied away from criticising the officials and instead lamented a flustered second-half display that contributed to the All Blacks losing at home to Ireland for the first time in 117 years.
Ireland's historic 23-12 victory in Dunedin — achieved after the All Blacks conceded two yellow cards and one red in the first half — squared the series to set up a decider in Wellington next Saturday. The All Blacks started poorly, and after being reduced to 14 men for 50 minutes, they spilled a mountain of ball while attempting to chase the game.
"It was a test match of drama, wasn't it? Congratulations to Ireland on their win that levelled the series. We've got a big week ahead of us," Foster said. "We've had a couple of starts that are substandard that we've got to improve on."
The All Blacks, twice reduced to 13 in the first half, survived repeated Irish onslaughts through desperate defence to trail 10-7 at halftime, only to wilt in the second spell.
"I love the attitude of the team through that rather chaotic quarter where things were happening with cards and everything. To finish where we finished the first half was a real test of character for us. That try early in the second half hurt us. Trying to play catch-up against 14 men against a really good, well-organised defensive team is never easy.
"There were an unacceptable amount of errors in terms of handling. A lot of that was due to pressure and trying to force things and create space against what Ireland were doing.
"It will be a bit of an eye-opener, particularly for a few newer players, to feel that sort of tension and pressure, and trying to force things when you're one man down ain't easy when you're against a quality team.
"We were our own worst enemy in the second half; we've got to be better than that. We can still win with 14. We've got to trust ourselves, trust what we're doing."
Addressing the yellow cards to Leicester Fainga'anuku (attempted charge down) and Ofa Tuungafasi (early tackle) and Angus Ta'avao's red for an accidental head clash, Foster accepted the rulings.
"There will be no one who saw it as intentional but it was a head-on-head contact, and the two yellow cards previously, the officials were reasonably clear on that.
"I probably don't see a lot different from Ofa tackling someone and them not getting a yellow card for James Lowe on Quinn Tupaea but we're not grizzling about the cards."
Confusion reigned around Ardie Savea's substitution in the first half. The All Blacks initially took off Savea in order to field a front row following Ta'avao being sent off but believed they could bring back the influential loose forward. Savea instead spent the final 50 minutes on the sideline.
"My understanding was the opposite of the officials' understanding," Foster said. "They told us they have to live with the decision they made."
All Blacks captain Sam Cane cut a dejected figure after the team's third loss in four tests but is determined to claim the series.
"It hurts a lot," Cane said. "Any time you put on the black jersey, you want to win. It sucks, but lucky we've got another test next week to put in the work and make sure we come out firing.
"We worked our butts off while down men, and going into halftime, we were pretty happy with where we were at. The second half, too many errors didn't allow us to get our game going or build any pressure. They're a quality side and they made the most of those opportunities."
Despite the significant setback that is likely to spark starting changes next week, Foster backed the All Blacks to immediately respond.
"The evidence will be pretty simple," Foster said. "We didn't turn up with the same intensity we had seven days ago. We showed character, we've just got to show it for 80 minutes. I said at the start this series was vital for us because it's a good chance to see where we're at.
"We know the level of intensity we got to last week and we got diverted by a few things that happened, so we've got to deal with that."