On high alert: Ian Foster
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New Zealand assistant coach Ian Foster warned his players not to underestimate struggling England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Stuart Lancaster's troops have crashed to successive defeats against Australia and South Africa amid criticism of the team's lacklustre performances.
Few pundits expects England to pull off a shock win against an All Blacks outfit unbeaten in their last 20 Tests.
But Foster believes New Zealand shouldn't take anything for granted as England will be desperate to salvage some respect after their dispiriting run continued with Saturday's 16-15 loss to South Africa.
"It's a dangerous time to be playing England. We saw that a little bit when we played Wales on Saturday," Foster said.
"They will have targeted us and there's no better way for redemption when you've had a couple of defeats than to knock over a top team.
"Between that and the youth they have, a little sense of adventure could come into their game.
"They've come off two big games so the energy levels will be pretty even and it will just be about who executes the best.
"They showed during their summer series in South Africa that they can play with a bit of width. They proved they have the ability to do that.
"It's going to be at least as tough as the Wales match from what we've seen.
"That was a very physical game and we were fortunate to execute really well in some moments and pile on a lot of pressure."
New Zealand demolished Wales 33-10 in Cardiff on Saturday to continue their impressive run and they will have added motivation to crush England as it is World Cup-winning captain Richie McCaw's last match before beginning a six-month sabbatical.
"I'm sure that for Richie it will be in his mind. It's already been mentioned at the back of the bus," said All Blacks centre Conrad Smith.
"I'm sure he won't bring it up. He's already spoken about how much he wants the team to finish well.
"We feel like we deserve it for the year we have, but that doesn't get you any points. You have to do the work."
Comments
brands says...
@ jaimetheprop
ha ha i drove passed the Woolston club on my way home from work tonight, dodgy place that it is (does a great roast though), Im predicting the ABs by 2, mad prediction possibly but ill stick with it, should be a cracker!!
Posted 04:42 30th November 2012
DampAardvark says...
England are clearly in a better place than they were under Johnson. But what have we learned from these autumn internationals about individual players in the squad? I'd like to see Lancaster's initial innovation continue. It's not a bad squad but we do need development at 10, 12 and 13. We have skill shortages in many of the players we've seen being used in those positions in my opinion. Why not try some more radical options in the 6 Nations. I hope Lancaster doesn't start to show the wrong kind of loyalties, as Johnson did, because the squad does probably still need some development. The players are not bringing each other into the game with enough skill, eg, Robshaw, who's not too bad at the offloading game they favour at Quins, is sometimes going unnoticed when he's right on other players' shoulders going forward. Some say S. Armitage should come in because he's more lively, but unless the whole team can understand the style and feed the flair they have, it can't be deployed.
Posted 23:44 29th November 2012
JamieTheProp says...
@ brands - 25 years in the front row! I just love rugby and while I am a passionate England fan (I came down to NZ to follow them in the World Cup - we started in Christchurch with some boozing in the Woolston Club) I do understand their limitations.
I see them getting better and better - with the odd small step backward and am just interested to see where the journey ends! It amazes me that people are so short sighted - in 2003 we were world beaters stuffing SA by 50 and beating all the SH nations in their own backyards. Then we fell hard and have been awful for years - but we've been there before so why not again! You just never know!
That's sport!
Posted 22:54 28th November 2012
LondonWasp says...
Englanmd Women vs NZ Women
23 Nov: England 16-13 New Zealand
27 Nov: England 17-8 New Zealand
why isn't women's rugby getting the recognition it deserves? if the mens team did this, Planet Rugby's commment section would explode!!!!
Posted 11:37 28th November 2012
nzmaoriboy says...
@shoobydo! Mate I'm just as pissed with Hore too..I write pieces for no8wire which is a NZ rugby site so I have to TRAWL rugby news from around the world! (its time consuming) to answer questions asked by members! but I love rugby..so its usually enjoyable. I have been doing it long enough to recognize the usual angled stories we AB's get when touring..i.e Haka,Arrogance,disrespect,Expectations etc etc..I know they are written for reaction..So normal human reaction is Defensiveness i guess...However I must admit 85%of the rugby feedback from Fans on the site is usually pretty awesome & positive..but their is that little quota that often burst your bubble! Mind I guess in the end as long as they are passionate for rugby
Posted 08:40 28th November 2012
brands says...
@ jamietheprop
from a kiwi sitting in Christchurch, your post was probably the most accurate and sensible i have ever read on here, you have echoed my thoughts exacly, you must play a bit as well, I was around the core of the ABs before they left, they were tired then, they must be knackered now, the score line will not be huge, i would say 2 points, keep up your good work!
Posted 07:31 28th November 2012
wfgwoody says...
I really can't see the POMs scoring a try. And I can't see the All blacks not scoring two min. So the Blackness by 17!
Posted 03:04 28th November 2012
kennyisgay says...
I get the feeling England will be finding out how Ireland felt in June come Sat eve. They can thank Stephen Jones and co for the big can the AB's are about to open up
Posted 22:50 27th November 2012
hayj05 says...
@lawynd - Haha comment below you..
Posted 21:48 27th November 2012
JamieTheProp says...
@ masar says - England were also suffering a fair number of injuries and we have been out of form for almost 8 years. We have a very young team giving away a huge number of caps to the majority of teams we have played and still we are pushing teams with a much better recent pedigree than us close.
With the exception of the Australia game (where I thought we were very poor) we have played very well (considering where we are in the development of the team - having started from scratch at the beginning of the last 6 nations).
For once we are building a team, building a little depth and starting to develop a way of playing - all going in the right direction but nowhere near where we need to be.
The teams we haven't beaten this summer and in the Autumn are all higher than us in the rankings (and rightly so).
With that in mind I don't expect England to get within 15 points of New Zealand (and I know if they click it could be 20+). But NZ are the best in the world and possibly the best the world has ever seen - so there is no disgrace in that.
As someone else said on here Saturday is about our players learning what the best and playing the best feels like, looks like and is like. As Argentina has proved playing regularly against the best teams improves your own game.
This has always been about 2015 and the World Cup - so let's judge this team then. The likelyhood is we will still come up short against the SH giants, but maybe, just maybe we'll see 2003 all over again.
Posted 21:08 27th November 2012
Isograford says...
Could actually be a close game. The All Blacks will have one foot on the plane back home after another ridiculously long year with a truckload of travel added, especially with Argentina added to the travel calender.
Some of the All Blacks are already talking about having not a lot of gas left in the tank, so this is a very good chance for England to knock them over.
Posted 18:53 27th November 2012
shoobydo says...
@nzmaoriboy - you posts sound increasingly paranoid mate.
None of the UK articles I read assert the All Black brand is based on violent off the ball acts. The report in the Guardian only gave the Hore/Davies incident a passing mention.
Even dumbed-down tabloid rags like The Sun gave one quote from Rob Howley saying "There is no place on the rugby field for what Hore did. It was a disgrace and Iżm sure the citing officials will not take it lightly.ż
Where exactly do you get this nonsense from?
I bet the AB won't even talk about Andrew Hore or what happened last week - They are professional sports team and will be focussed anyway.
Posted 18:12 27th November 2012
NHsaints says...
'crashed'? PR you make it sound like we deserved to lose both games...all chances taken and a little less SA luck and England would have won the two games, hands down...we just lacked an experienced captain to make the right calls at the right time and Flood's boot was a bit off against SA. I also think this game will be quite tight, this England side won't fold like the teams over the last 9 tests bar 2010, but realistically the all blacks will win by a solid 15.
Posted 18:07 27th November 2012
nzmaoriboy says...
@lawynd...Hey mate I might just be getting a bit precious..Articles like these do push the old buttons though. In saying that many of these old scribes have very long memories.just a couple i could find before heading to work! Don't man to detract from this thread I am expecting a very physical game, Carter is playing so I expect a more polished AB's
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/nov/24/wales-new-zealand-butler
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10849865
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2012/11/26/under-fire-all-blacks-coach-steve-hansen-insists-we-are-not-thugs-91466-32308344/
Posted 17:52 27th November 2012
KiwiLad says...
Ponteysurrey, I feel certain Dylan Hartley will put in enough cheap garbage to keep it all even.
Posted 17:03 27th November 2012
Rosbif says...
Ian Foster looks suspiciously like Richard Hill ?
Posted 16:50 27th November 2012
masar says...
since australia is full of injuries... sa out of form... and england lost to both of them... at home... yeah i would say they "crashed to succesive defeats"
nz... such gentlemen... like someone on another thread said... man against boys.
Posted 14:58 27th November 2012
heathy says...
This is all very nice but I'm sure the All Blacks will not be losing any sleep over this next game. Follow their game plan and execute everything well and it should be enough even if they are slightly jaded. I hope England will give them the best game of the series as I think we are capable of doing that. If we win it will be a shock and not the norm. New Zealand are not just streets ahead of England but are streets ahead of everybody. The draw with Australia shows they are human and that they must not rest on their laurels but that was a freak result as opposed to the norm. South Africa may well go back also unbeaten but they had a lot of luck on their side and could easily have lost two out of three games. Yes, they won but more by the skin of their teeeth as both the coaches and players have themselves stated. The All Blacks have done it all with class and great execution. They haven't even looked like losing at ANY point. This is the team to look up to and I just hope that England can learn a great deal from this team for the coming years. McCaw has been nothing but outstanding not only during this tour but for years. He deserves a rest. His rest means the players can get a rest too ha ha. Yes, Carter is the pin up boy and adored by all as he is pure class but he gets an armchair ride from the likes of his captain. The first man on your team sheet will not be Carter but McCaw. That says it all.
Posted 14:41 27th November 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
nice sound bite.
I agree with NZ maoriboy that all the knat biting involving Andrew Hores public stoning will just focus NZ. Frooschman is very realistic about what england can get out of this game. It's attitude and performance. If we can carry oursleves as well as Italy and Scotland did then we'll keep out respect. Hell of a lot to work on though, england have loads of work to do, Bit of help from the clubs would go a long way too. Lets try and improve our player's benchmark. the step up is too much. When england were good we had, Leicester, Northampton and Wasps wining the eurocup. the link is undeniable and none of them were moaning about the celts getting too much rest. They got on with it like real men.
Posted 14:34 27th November 2012
LondonWasp says...
you can underestimate us as much as you like mate!!!
i think everyone in england will be happy if we can avoid loosing by 20+ points!
Posted 14:25 27th November 2012