All Blacks head coach Ian Foster. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images
All Blacks boss Ian Foster has conceded Saturday’s Test defeat to the Springboks in Mbombela has heaped even more pressure on him, with the under-fire coach saying “all is on the line” in this weekend’s Test at Ellis Park.
Last Saturday’s 26-10 defeat is the biggest loss suffered by the All Blacks against the Boks in nearly a century and Foster seems to understand that another wrong result will end his career as All Blacks coach.
“I’m going grey and my hair is receding quickly,” Foster joked after Saturday’s defeat, according to AFP.
“It’s never easy and the standards you have means you always want to do well.
“We always knew coming over here for two Tests was going to be massive.
“It would have been nice to win the first one, but we’re going to Ellis Park (with) all on the line.”
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However, Foster insisted the All Blacks can still turn things around and bounce back.
“We have a group which is still developing, I have been over here over a number of years with probably more established All Blacks teams,” he added.
“We still fundamentally believe we can get there, some of the moves were positive but we have to prove next weekend that we can continue to keep growing.”
The All Blacks will know later Monday whether Beauden and Jordie Barrett will be fit to play in the Ellis Park Test.
Beauden hurt his neck on Saturday while Jordie has a sore ankle.
“Jordie has a bad ankle. (Beauden) went for a scan on his neck, which is clear. We will make a decision on that later in the week, but he is still a bit sore,” Foster said.