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Ian Foster explains the four changes to the bench including Codie Taylor
By Ben Smith
Ian Foster’s starting side for the second test against the Pumas is unchanged but the bench has had a makeover after a disappointing second forty minutes in Christchurch.
The All Blacks only managed a lone penalty goal in the second half after having the lead 15-6 at one point in the first half.
A number of substitutions failed to deliver, particularly when hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho was taken off early for Codie Taylor.
The Crusaders No 2 has been replaced this week by Dane Coles in one of four changes to the bench made by the All Blacks.
“I think there is a little bit of that,” Foster said when queried about whether the changes were made as a result of the finish last week.
“I don’t think Codie was at his best, he’d admit that,” Foster said.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in him, he’s a quality rugby player but sometimes the right thing is to take him out and work hard on things behind the scenes.”
Chiefs lock Brodie Retallick has been named to make his return on the bench after suffering a broken cheekbone in third test against Ireland.
He replaces his club teammate Tupou Vaa’i who failed to get onto the field in Christchurch.
“In Brodie’s [Retallick] case, it is a return to play more than anything,” Foster said.
“It’s tough on Tupou [Vaa’i] because he didn’t get on the field so he’s a guy we’ve got a lot of time for. We see this as a chance to play NPC and get some minutes.
After calls for Blues No 7 Dalton Papalii to start this week in place of Sam Cane, Foster resisted the pressure and named the same starting back row for the third test running.
Papalii has been named on the bench in place of Akira Ioane who drops out of the game day 23.
“Dalton, we’ve been desperate to give him some game time. He’s clearly a guy we’ve got a lot of confidence in, we’ve given him a chance to get some minutes.”
Last week’s debutant Stephen Perofeta will have to wait to add to his 50 seconds of test rugby action, with Beauden Barrett returning to the bench after recovering from injury.
“Beauden [Barrett], is also coming back from injury and Colesy, well he’s Colesy really,” Foster said.
“He’s hitting people hard during clarity sessions and doing all sorts during the week so he’s ready to go.”
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Latest Comments
There's no easy fix here. From a geography standpoint, South Africa is kind of on an island alone in the rugby world, much like Argentina.
They don't have enough talent to have a top tier domestic league of their own, and it won't support the union financially. Best case you could hope for would be the five extant franchises (including Cheetahs) and perhaps a team from Namimbia. Gives you a 6 team league, that's not enough. Plus again, it's just not financially sustainable either.
At the same time, it's not really great for them to be involved in either the European or the Pacific rugby set up. That said, as bad as the travel is, at least Europe makes more sense from a time zone perspective. I still think it's the least bad option. Also has done wonders for the URC.
I don't think though, that it makes very much sense to have 4 teams from the URC excluded from European qualification. Not to mention, being able to compete in the Champions Cup was a big draw for the South African clubs anyway.
So yeah, I don't really see a change that makes more sense than the less than ideal situation that already exists.
Go to commentsMoriaty refused to play for wales also he’s injured, France’s is being coy about wales, North in the dark but Sam David and jerad are you joking their not good enough
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