Quarter-final defining moment of Foster era

Ian Foster at the All Blacks captain's run ahead of the crunch quarter-final against Ireland....
Ian Foster at the All Blacks captain's run ahead of the crunch quarter-final against Ireland. Photo: Getty Images
The moment of truth, the occasion to define Ian Foster’s All Blacks era, has arrived.

The culmination of a four-year rollercoaster like no other reaches its tipping point at Stade de France.

The All Blacks have labelled their World Cup quarter-final against Ireland, the world’s No 1 side, their final.

For good reason, too. Eight influential players face the prospect of no tomorrow in the treasured black jersey.

The same is true for Foster and at least five of his long-serving management set to depart after the global tournament. High stakes, indeed.

Fourteen months ago one inspired backs-to-the-wall performance at Ellis Park – and the vocal support from senior players – saved Foster’s tenure from the brink of being overthrown.

Rarely has one result proved so altering.

Here we are again. This time in Paris. Conjure a similar defiant underdog triumph, and Foster’s All Blacks will flip the narrative on a tumultuous era punctuated by fallouts, rebuilds and uncharted valleys.

Stark coaching records paint the backdrop for the latest chapter in the All Blacks and Ireland’s great modern rivalry.

Foster and Andy Farrell share common paths in that they elevated from trusted lieutenants to lead their respective national teams.

Since assuming charge from Steve Hansen, amid a cacophony of discontent following the 2019 World Cup semifinal defeat, Foster has navigated 30 victories, 11 losses and two draws for a 69.7 per cent win ratio.

Through that seemingly ever-fluctuating ride, where the All Blacks slipped to sit fourth in the world, faith has been regularly tested to leave emotions frayed and uncertainty prevalent.

In the same timeframe Farrell, Joe Schmidt’s former defence coach, lays claim to 35 victories and seven defeats for an 83.3 per cent success rate. After an unconvincing start - six wins from their first 11 attempts - Farrell’s Ireland have lost two of their last 31 tests.

The All Blacks, by comparison, lost two of their last five with three blowout wins coming against Namibia, Italy and Uruguay after their World Cup-opening defeat to France.

Such form disparity offers an insight into why Ireland is favoured to progress to their first World Cup semifinal.

Form, of course, means little in the brutal knockout arena.

The All Blacks know this stage well. They are capable and confident of rising for the occasion.

This is the first time since July when the All Blacks dismantled the Springboks at Mt Smart Stadium, everyone is available from a fitness perspective. Mark Telea’s omission for disciplinary reasons and Cam Roigard’s peculiar absence from the bench aside, the All Blacks are at full strength.

Elite All Blacks performances often embrace an inner anger or resolve at their core. Hell hath no fury like an All Blacks team scorned, after all.

Unfinished business pierces the Parisian air in this regard – both in the lingering World Cup hurt from Japan and the visible scars inflicted by Ireland’s maiden series success in New Zealand last year.

Those powerful motivators fuel this significantly remodelled team.

All week the All Blacks have stated they wanted Ireland at this juncture. From the coaching changes that ushered in transformative forwards mentor Jason Ryan and Schmidt to the long-form planning and selection rotation everything, we are told, is geared for this stage.

Now the All Blacks must walk the talk to summon the best performance of Foster’s tenure.

Hopes rest on generating punch through Jordie Barrett, Shannon Frizell and Leicester Fainga’anuku’s ball-carrying presence – and the forward pack’s ability to provide a consistent platform.

With Irish lock James Ryan sidelined through injury the All Blacks could target lineout after the Springboks stole six throws from Ireland in their pool match. The All Blacks defence, though, which is ranked eighth at this World Cup with a tackle success of 78 per cent, must dramatically improve.

“Rugby is a simple game in playoffs it’s about the control through your set piece, having the confidence to not tighten up and clearly it’s the discipline side of the game and how to control yourself when the pressure is on,” Foster said.

“Quarter-finals we don’t want to die wondering. We don’t want to go into our shell. We still want to play our game but we know we’ve got to be at our best. It’s not like this is a surprise. We’re mentally ready for it. I have full belief in this group.”

New Zealand as a rugby nation is guilty at times of adopting an insular view but there is widespread recognition and respect for Ireland.

This is not the injury-riddled Ireland the Pumas bundled out of the 2015 quarterfinal in Cardiff. Nor is it Schmidt’s Irish who peaked before the All Blacks humbled them at the same stage in 2019.

This Ireland is the real deal. Their record under Farrell – 17 wins in succession – proves that. There’s shades of the 2015 All Blacks in their combinations, the length of time they’ve played together and how well they know their clinical, organised, accurate game on both sides of the ball.

Farrell’s Ireland confronts history. They are no mental midgets. This time, there should be no performance anxiety.

“An inferiority complex is what’s happened in the past in terms of getting to world No 1 and thinking we’re going to fall off a cliff because this shouldn’t be happening to Ireland. What we’ve learned is to throw ourselves into big challenges and meet them head-on and embrace that,” Farrell said.

“We don’t want to be second best but we also realise what comes with that; that people are always chasing you down hard.

"You’ve seen with the All Blacks over the last 20 years that’s why they’re so respected because it’s so hard to stay at the top.

“The guys that are the favourites are always the ones I’ve looked at throughout my career and envied because of how hard it is do to that.

"That’s the place we want to be. If you’re serious about getting better and being the team you want to be that’s the world you’ve got to live in.”

A sea of green, a field of dreams and despair, awaits with such conflicting fine-margin emotions at play.

More than 60,000 Irish supporters are expected to descend on Stade de France – all desperate to belt out their celebratory theme song, Zombie by The Cranberries.

Outnumbered All Blacks fans will hope to witness a resurrection of a very different form.

All Blacks v Ireland

8am, Sunday.