Michael Cheika: Ian Foster will be ‘loving’ his job as All Blacks coach despite pressure
Former Australia head coach Michael Cheika before the Autumn International match at Twickenham Stadium, London. Picture date: Saturday November 13, 2021.
Argentina head coach Michael Cheika believes that despite the pressure, All Blacks boss Ian Foster will be loving his job leading New Zealand.
Foster has officially been backed by New Zealand Rugby following the All Blacks’ win over the Springboks at Ellis Park. The coach had been under tremendous pressure before that after losing three games in a row, with his job very much on the line.
Coaching a proud country
Cheika says that pressure comes with the game and that Foster will enjoy his position as a coach of such a proud rugby nation.
“It’s not work at all, he’s the coach of New Zealand, one of the best countries in the world at rugby,” the Australian told Sky Sports NZ’s The Breakdown.
“He’ll be loving it, even when it’s tough mate, it doesn’t matter. That comes with the territory of footy. It gets tough.
“It’s a brilliant position to have, it’s a great honour if you are in it, and you love it, you get to go out and be involved in footy every day.
“It doesn’t matter how tough it gets, it’s part of the game, just like when you were a player.”
Argentina’s growth
Cheika’s Los Pumas side has grown impressively since the Australian took over earlier this year and claimed a series win against Scotland in July before taking on the Wallabies in two Tests.
Argentina controlled a large part of the first Test before discipline cost the side yet again, allowing the Wallabies to come back and win. However, the second game was a brilliant performance from Los Pumas, who claimed a record 48-17 victory over the Wallabies.
“The first Test was very disappointing actually, we were in a good position to win that,” Cheika said.
“In the back end, we gave away seven penalties in six minutes or something like that.
“There has been a lot of changes around the style, with different coaching team, it’s a different style we are looking to play.
“The more you get to use that, not just at training but in live game situations, and it works for you, and they click, they start to believe in things a bit more.
“Which is a process longer term. We did make a few small changes tactically [for the second Test] but it was more about believing in what we are up to.
Contepomi influence
Former Los Pumas fly-half Felipe Contepomi joined Cheika’s coaching staff as an assistant earlier this year and is tipped to take over the role after next year’s World Cup.
Cheika worked with the Argentine at Leinster but found the fiery former playmaker far more “measured” as a coach.
“He’s a different man as a coach than as a player. He’s become a lot more measured,” Cheika said.
“The fire that he shows has been channeled internally and he’s obviously got great experience with Leinster, coaching there, learning a lot from the great coaches they’ve had there.
“I think he brings a lot of things I remember from way back when we went there [Leinster] originally.
“A lot of those attacking principles, a lot of detail around the preparation, and we’re coaching a little bit different here.
“Everyone is taking a bit of a role in everything.”
Cheika’s next assignment is a two-Test tour of New Zealand starting this weekend before home and away fixtures against the Springboks.
