All Blacks coach Ian Foster defends captain Sam Cane after Argentinian defeat

Just when All Blacks coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane thought they were on safe ground, they slid back into the clanking jaws of the meat grinder.

When the pair awoke on Sunday morning to the realisation the 25-18 defeat to Argentina in Christchurch was not a nasty trick of the mind, it was inevitable the New Zealand rugby public would, again, ask whether Foster and Cane were the right fit for this All Blacks team.

They have every right to be concerned.

The All Blacks’ performance during this loss, their fourth in six tests this year, was miles away from the heady 35-23 triumph over the Springboks in Johannesburg a fortnight earlier, and to see openside flanker Cane subbed at the 66th minute mark added to the confusion.

When the NZ Rugby board last week endorsed Foster as the man to remain in charge of the team, after Cane and other senior players issued statements of support, it was in the belief he could build on the victory in South Africa.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

The All Blacks were outcoached and outmuscled by Argentina at Orangetheory Stadium on Saturday night and, as if that wasn’t painful enough, it was the first time they had suffered three consecutive losses at home in almost 120 years.

For Cane, having to make another losing speech must have been excruciating.

Yet, despite Foster questioning his players unwillingness to go away from their ‘DNA’ and kick rather than run the ball against the impenetrable Argentina defensive wall in the second half – which comes back to the team’s leaders – he defended his skipper.

“Clearly he (Cane) is under the spotlight,” Foster said. “We are all under the spotlight when things don’t go well. But behind the scenes, (he is) strong.

“I thought a lot of his tackle and work around the breakdown was a big shift up in the last two games, and we are pleased with that.”

An act of poor discipline from the captain, when he inexplicably tackled No 8 Pablo Matera without the ball in the 65th minute, was costly.

Not only did it enable Emiliano Boffelli to kick his sixth penalty to give Argentina a seven-point lead, it resulted in referee Nika Amashukeli issuing the All Blacks with a final warning before blindside flanker Shannon Frizell was yellow carded minutes later.

Foster said he would consult Cane about his silly shot on Matera: “Yeah, no doubt about that. We will work through all that. It’s probably reflective of a team that’s trying really, really hard and is close and not quite there.”

Immediately after the incident Cane was replaced by Akira Ioane and Ardie Savea assumed the captaincy. Foster stated it was a tactical substitution, rather than a punishment for Cane because he wanted to add a more powerful ball carrier to the attack.

While it’s not the first time he’s been replaced this season, the sight of an All Blacks skipper departing before the fulltime bell doesn’t sit well with some.

Foster was also contacted by NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson, who was in Australia, after the loss. Asked about nature of the conversation, Foster said: “He’s deeply invested in how we go, and wants to know.”

Given the dramas that unfolded before NZ Rugby elected to remain loyal to Foster instead of replacing him with Scott Robertson, Robinson must have been shocked to see the All Blacks play so poorly.

For now, he and the NZ Rugby board have to suck it up. Because they backed Foster. It was their call.

Next weekend’s Rugby Championship match, against Argentina in Hamilton, shapes as a must-win game. Not just to stay in the hunt for the title, but to prevent more table thumping from a fan base growing weary of the All Blacks’ shortcomings.

There is the prospect of forwards Brodie Retallick, Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tuungafasi being available, after being sidelined with injuries.

Playmaker Beauden Barrett may also be considered if he has recovered from the sore neck that ruled him out in Christchurch.