Rugby: Ian Foster demands improvements as All Blacks seek to avoid worst season in 12 years

Ian Foster has pushed pressure squarely on his depleted backline to lead the response against France. Photo / Getty

In the immediate aftermath of the convincing Dublin defeat scrutiny largely fell on the All Blacks forward pack's inability to deliver a dominant platform. Ian Foster has instead pushed pressure squarely on his depleted backline to lead the response against France as the All Blacks seek to avoid their worst season in 12 years.

How quickly the dynamic surrounding this year's All Blacks campaign has changed.

Despite securing the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship titles the All Blacks, following Sunday's 29-20 loss to Ireland, are in danger of falling to three defeats in a calendar year for the first time since 2009 when they lost three times to South Africa and once each to France and the Barbarians.

During Steve Hansen's eight-year tenure, the All Blacks dropped two tests and a draw in 2017 and 2019.

Last year, in Ian Foster's first Covid-affected season at the helm, the All Blacks matched that record by losing successive tests, for the first time since 2011, and drawing their opening match with the Wallabies.

This year has steadily built to two natural crescendos. Having split brutal tests 1-1 against the Springboks to finish the Rugby Championship, twin assignments against Ireland and France were always going to shape the narrative of Foster's second season in charge.

Ian Foster has pushed pressure squarely on his depleted backline to lead the response against France. Photo / Getty

Foster has attempted to juggle multiple objectives this year by building depth and growing experience through regular rotation against lesser opposition. Yet he fully grasps there's no wriggle room this week. Victory to end the season is non-negotiable.

"A week is always a long time in a game of rugby. We were well beaten by a very good Irish team and we've now got to take stock of that and finish this tour the way we want to," Foster said after arriving in Paris. "It's very much process focused but it's definitely tainted with a bit of a bad taste in your mouth. You don't want to leave any lessons behind."

Plotting an immediate response without two experienced figures, Anton Lienert-Brown (shoulder) and with Beauden Barrett likely to be sidelined after failing his HIA against Ireland, will not be straightforward.

Foster is, however, demanding his backline significantly improves their decision making and accuracy after witnessing another flustered performance in the face of rush defence.

Assessing the lessons from Dublin, Foster accepted his forward pack did not deliver enough ball after the All Blacks were forced to live off 39 per cent possession and 33 per cent territory, but he shifted the focus of criticism to his backline that lacked patience, made rash decisions such as TJ Perenara's quick tap under his sticks in the first half and failed to build pressure.

"Our pack has gone pretty well through this year. Overall, I've been reasonably satisfied but we got put on the backfoot. Parts of our forward play were really good but consistently over 80 minutes we've got to get stronger and we've got to make sure we're giving our forwards the chance to impose themselves on the opposition a bit better," Foster said.

"We turned over a lot of ball in the backs within one or two phases. That's something that hurt us in the first test against South Africa even though we won.

"That came back to bite us a little bit so it's a matter of backs being accountable for the decisions they make and retaining the ball to give our forwards a chance to impose themselves. That's going to be a big part of the solution.

"Ireland managed to put us under a lot of pressure not only when they had the ball but we got quite flustered at times and lacked composure so they are the moments we've got to take lessons from. You're always going to get times in games where momentum is going against you but it's how you turn that around."

Ireland's Hugo Keenan celebrates at the final whistle with James Lowe. Photo / Photosport

With the limited ball they did secure the All Blacks were clinical in claiming tries through Codie Taylor and Will Jordan but the attack largely failed to fire.

Beauden Barrett's early cross-field kick to Jordan was squandered. The All Blacks were on the wrong side of a marginal forward pass call that scrubbed out Akira Ioane's try and they blew Ardie Savea's dynamic bust off the back of the scrum in the final eight minutes when David Havili flung a centering pass to Rieko Ioane who was turned over after the support failed to cleanout Peter O'Mahony.

Such chances were fleeting. Foster knows the All Blacks will not survive a repeat performance against France.

"Us getting up off the mat after last night won't be hard to do. It hurt last night. We know we got outplayed. There's no grey area about that.

"Playing against an exciting young French team at Stade de France it's a great game for us to respond. I don't think we'll be short of motivation at all. I know our leaders and senior players are hurting and already starting to think about the plan for this week. That's where we put our energy."

Aside from Lienert-Brown and Barrett, Foster may elect to inject some fresher bodies into his forward pack to counter fatigue after the All Blacks had to make 238 tackles against Ireland.

"Test matches like that take a lot out of you. I've learnt over time not to make too many big calls on a Sunday. It's key we let our recovery process go through for the next 24 to 48 hours and we see what state the squad is in.

"We're okay. We've been primed for these last two games – we knew they were going to be big. It will be no different this week."