Ian Foster address injury rumours to key All Black before World Cup final
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has unequivocally dismissed rumours of an injury to star playmaker Richie Mo’unga ahead of this weekend’s Rugby World Cup final at Stade de France.
New Zealand Herald journalist Liam Napier had heard “injury whispers” of what would’ve been a game-changing injury in the lead-up to the decider. Stuff also mentioned the rumour in one of their pieces this week.
There was also an extensive Reddit thread as fans began to spread the news like wildfire mere days out from the biggest game on the men’s rugby calendar. But if Mo’unga is injured, then that’s news to coach Foster.
After unveiling the All Blacks team for the Rugby World Cup final, coach Foster offered a smile to a room of reporters as he put any rumours of Mo’unga’s readiness to rest.
“I was very interested to read that. I haven’t heard that from our medical staff, so he is good to go,” Foster said on Thursday.
“10s are key, they always are in big games, but we like to take the pressure off one person by the guys in front of them doing their jobs, our nine giving good service. There are lots of different pictures you see outside your 10 too.
“But Richie is in a great spot, he is leading the team well, he has a smile on his face and is uninjured.”
With both teams looking to win a record fourth Rugby World Cup title, the All Blacks and Springboks will write another unmissable chapter into the history books of their rivalry.
Both coach Foster and captain Sam Cane know what it takes to win the sport’s biggest prize, with the pair contributing to the All Blacks’ triumph at the 2015 tournament in England.
But there’s something a bit different about this Test. The All Blacks were written off by many coming into the Rugby World Cup, and it’s their arch-rivals who stand in their way of eternal glory.
“Yeah, big. That’s what World Cup finals are about. This is our second one we’ve been to. I don’t think there’s ever a small one. The fact is we have two teams who have been old foes for a long time,” Foster added.
“We all remember the last final between us [in 1995], which was an epic, and hopefully this one will be the same. Then you do the maths and someone is going to win a fourth, so it’s special isn’t it?
“We’ve got massive regard for each other, massive respect for them as country in how they play. It’s a pretty cool one to get ready for.”
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> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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