Phil Gifford: The big question for New Zealand Rugby over All Blacks coaching decision

All Blacks coach Ian Foster and NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson. Photo / Photosport

OPINION:

Super Rugby Pacific begins with a remarkable victory for the Chiefs, but we live in strange times.

What’s happening around the All Black coaching job is a bigger topic for rugby tragics, so that leads six rugby talking points from the week.

Rebellion at the top

Ian Foster’s media campaign is not a fit of pique, but an attempt to get New Zealand Rugby’s board to reconsider the timing of a decision on the All Black coaching job. He’s been nakedly frank about whether he will still be wanted after the Cup, which might have diverted attention away from his main point.

The players may be able to carry on and concentrate, but how much stress does the announcement of a new coach put on the coaching and management staff around Foster, all of whom will almost certainly be replaced if he goes? Ask yourself if you’ve ever seen anyone working at their best after they’ve been told they’re going to be sacked.

This is not the first time an All Black coach has felt jerked around by NZ Rugby officials. In 1992, NZRU chairman Eddie Tonks told Laurie Mains he’d been voted in as coach ahead of Tonks’ preferred candidate, John Hart, and added “the s*** will hit the fan now”. In 2003, after chairman Jock Hobbs had said the board was “very disappointed” the All Blacks hadn’t won the World Cup, coach John Mitchell said the comments were “hard to swallow. It was like my employer didn’t support me”.

The difference with what’s happening now is that Mains knew he had the majority of the board in his corner, and when Mitchell was dropped he had no more games to coach before he left.

Whether they want Foster to keep going or not, when NZ Rugby’s board meet this week they really should look hard at how international coaching jobs have filled around the world, leaving the All Black spot as the only attractive option, and decide that delaying the All Black decision until October is not the weak, but the sensible decision.

All hail to the Chiefs

Chiefs players celebrate during the 31-10 victory. Photo / Photosport

The Chiefs’ 31-10 victory over the Crusaders in Christchurch bordered on extraordinary.

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan, as he invariably is, was grounded about the win, noting that to beat the Crusaders you need to have some things go wrong for them.

But in the second half, when the Crusaders were scoreless, it was the Chiefs’ aggressive defence and huge commitment that eventually led to the rare sight of Crusaders missing tackles and making poor kicking decisions.

All Blacks to the fore

At a time when the All Blacks’ leadership off the field is a hot issue, it was good to see Sam Cane and Brodie Retallick in dynamic early season form on the track. Cane played to the last whistle (albeit with a 10 minute break for a careless offside at a ruck at the 19 minute mark), while Retallick wasn’t subbed until late in the second spell. Cane’s detractors seem as committed as the anti-vaccine lobby, but his tackling was actually as determined and accurate as always.

Retallick may turn 32 before the World Cup, but his reflexes, which allow him to so often spoil opposition ball retention, and his footballing instincts, which lift him from being a good test lock to being a great one, are still in full working order.

Sparking everyone to life

Time hasn’t dulled Damian McKenzie either. His goal kicking got better and better as the game wore on, and when he runs with the ball he not only spooks defenders, but, as coach McMillan noted, he also inspires teammates.

Welcome back

Two injured Crusaders/All Blacks who looked as if they’d never been away were midfielder Jack Goodhue, who in the first half made tackling giant Chiefs forwards feel routine, and Ethan Blackadder, as robust with the ball as he was before he dislocated his shoulder last June.

What does it mean?

Is this a sign that the Crusaders’ golden era under Scott Robertson is about to end?

No. It’s way too early for that. We’ll quickly get a line on how they react to being so well beaten when they face the Highlanders in Melbourne next Friday.

Does it mean the Chiefs have made a big statement? Yes.

he most telling comment may have been Cane’s remark that going from “having a different coach every year” to enjoying real continuity with McMillan in charge has given the Chiefs a massive boost.