Ian Foster ready to bring the rotation back as he plans to bring 46 All Blacks to Australia

Brace yourself for those dreaded ‘R’ words to reenter the All Blacks lexicon, warns new head coach Ian Foster as he reflects on the reality of bringing 46 players to Australia for a condensed rugby championship that will challenge both body as well as mind.

He is talking, of course, of “rest” and “rotation,” which became synonymous with a not particularly well-received stint early in Sir Graham Henry’s tenure as All Blacks coach. Foster cautions that they are likely to have a second broadcast during a championship that may leave his team having to squeeze six tests in just five weeks.

And, while you’re at it, you would also like to wrap your melon in the fact that the final part of the provincial Miter 10 Cup competition will bear only a passing resemblance to what will have unfolded during the initial fortnight. That’s why Foster is unapologetic in a Covid-ravaged world where test matches simply have to take precedence.

Foster confirmed in a zoom call with New Zealand reporters on Tuesday that he will likely use Sanzaar’s full 46-player allocation for the championship, partly due to the condensed nature of the show and partly because border restrictions mean flying in player replacement almost impossible. .

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Not only should you have plans A, B, C, and D up your sleeve, but also close at hand because there simply isn’t a timely way to attract players from afar.

Currently, Foster has 35 players on his squad to muster for the first two Bledisloe Cup tryouts against the Wallabies, which were confirmed on Tuesday for Wellington on October 11 and Auckland on October 18. But he will name an additional 10 or 11 to take to Australia. And you want to do it sooner rather than later to give everyone concerned adequate breathing space.

“From a player welfare perspective, I don’t think we can delay the appointment of additional players too close to the game because people are going to need the time to organize for that nine-week period,” he said.

“We’re going to let the next week or two go by, but I think we’ll name those additional players in plenty of time for them to get their personal stuff online and come out with a lot of energy.”

The new All Blacks boss sees no difficulty extending his current squad by about a third, given how tough some of the decisions were just to make that cut.

“There are probably 10 or 11 unfortunate names not to be there in the first place,” he added. “The question now is how early do you name them? We have the ability to maintain many incentives in the Miter10 Cup over the next few weeks, to answer more questions and analyze injuries. First I want certainty … certainty of the Bledisloe program and certainty of what the quarantine is like and when we are allowed to bring people in. “

Here it is where it gets interesting. Foster sees value in, say, potentially bringing a group of 10 players to Australia a week later, and also in sending 10 home a week before the finale. But he has doubts that regulations allow it and is resigned to having to manage a massive team of 46 for the entire championship.

The challenges there, he says, will be significant but not insurmountable.

“There will be some things that we will have to rethink about how we operate as All Blacks. We have a mantra that everyone prepares to play each event; I don’t think you do it with 45 or 46.

“There will have to be a rotation, to bring that word back, when there are deliveries of four or five days between a couple of tests. You would like to think that the four accessories you use in one test will not be the four accessories you use in the next. It’s about making sure we don’t put too much pressure on the players and also balancing their mental side and that the players don’t prepare to play every week and don’t play, but just burn out. “

Foster plans to have a three- and four-day camp before the assembly for the first Bledisloe. One is likely to be in Auckland, restrictions permitting, and the other at a ‘regional’ center.

Regarding Miter 10 Cup participation, Foster cautions not to expect much around test stars participation beyond this week when the All Blacks, except those with injuries or complaints, will be available again. .

“If the Bledisloe dates are what we’re talking about now, I’d say the general availability of the All Blacks starting in the third round would disappear. But there might still be some people who could come back into play. “

But Foster didn’t like the suggestion that the All Blacks in Australia would “decimate” the final leg of the provincial competition, given that internationals don’t normally even line up for their unions.

“The key now is to keep celebrating the fact that these players are playing,” he said. “One thing we have learned this year is to just enjoy what we have in front of us. It has been an advantage that the All Blacks play the Miter 10 Cup and hopefully there will still be a chance to put the players back in that October period. “