Foster believes All Blacks are on the right track

All Black boss Ian Foster is under fire after recent results but still believes that his side are making progress. 

On Saturday evening, the All Blacks crashed to a dramatic defeat to France, the latter completely dominating the former in all areas of the game and building an impressive 15-point lead by the time the final whistle sounded.  

Speaking to Stuff after the loss, Foster said: 

“There’s no denying the last two weeks were tough for us. We came across two very good teams at the end of our season and they played well,” he admitted. 

“I thought our response tonight was much stronger and we got ourselves back into some key moments that we’ve got to grow from. If we had been able to apply a bit of pressure at the end of that third quarter I felt we could have had a really different picture. 

“If you look at our year, how do I feel about the progress? We’ve played more tests than we’ve ever played, and we’ve won 12 out of 15. I think South Africa lost five tests, Australia lost seven. I know we get judged harshly, but we’re making progress. 

“We’ve got a good base of players now, we’re growing, but we’re also learning some tough lessons at the end of this long season.” 

Calls for a shake-up of the coaching staff are growing louder and louder in New Zealand ats RWC 2023 edges near, signalling some potentially tough decisions ahead.