Opinion by Rugby Reporter Jim Kayes
Take a bow Ian Foster. The All Blacks first two tries from scrums in their 27-19 win against the Wallabies were superbly planned and executed, with the creation of space for fullback Israel Dagg's try particularly clever. Cory Jane's try wasn't quite as cleanly created but it was still well crafted. Both were as good as any scored from set play in the Graham Henry era when Wayne Smith was principally in charge of the attack.
Too often the All Blacks, and most New Zealand teams, rely more on attacking from broken play than set pieces. It's a reflection of the natural talents of the players involved but ignores the reality that at scrum time 16 players are committed to a set piece of dirt leaving the backs with plenty of field to exploit. Get the move right, do it at pace and it's hard to stop, especially when the players involved are as handy as the All Blacks.
It's a victory for Foster because there were legitimate question marks over his appointment to the All Blacks as backs coach given the under achievement of the Chiefs during his lengthy tenure as head coach. Foster's supporters maintained he was a good coach but lacked a pack able to lay a platform for his attacking theories to be launched from. The tries by Dagg and Jane add credence to that.
Sydney's magnificent rugby stadium, built in Home Bush for the 2000 Olympics, hasn't always been a happy hunting ground for the All Blacks. Though they scored 50 points against Australia there in 2003, they lost their World Cup semifinal there to the Wallabies a few months later. Of the 12 games now held at the venue the All Blacks drew level with this latest win - their 6th - and it's an important one in the context of the Bledisloe Cup. The three test series moves to Auckland next week. Given the Wallabies haven't beaten the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1986 the odds are the trans-Tasman trophy could soon be safely in Kiwi hands for another year.
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