“I don’t think the problem is just internal to the team”

“I haven’t seen them save much… Ian Foster […] He’s a very good coach,” said Hansen, who won early 2020 after Foster became his assistant. “He must not be happy with the way things have gone, but I don’t think the problem is internal to the team. “The evil is more important than that,” said Ian Hansen, who blamed New Zealand rugby leaders for airing their dirty laundry in public instead of doing it with family. “I think they’re not doing their job properly,” he said.

After a series of historic defeats against the XV of Clover, New Zealand Rugby’s director-general Mark Robinson described the All Blacks’ performance as “unacceptable” and the coach was lambasted by the press.

The two sacked assistants, Foster and Kane, were retained

But if two of his assistants, John Plumtree and Brad Mower, were dropped, Ian Foster was kept in place for the Rugby Championship, the southern hemisphere’s great nations tournament, which starts in August.

Steve Hansen also came to the defense of Sam Kane as Ian Foster captained the All Blacks, but he too was rocked by the criticism. “I remember in 2007 Richie McCaw was the worst captain we had. He then became the best and only person to win two World Cups. “Sam Kane has been injured a lot but we know he is a good captain and we have to trust him and support him. […] “He’s a very good player and he’ll be back,” Steve Hansen said.