'It's hurtful… it's ridiculous how ruthless it has actually been'

Scrum-half Aaron Smith has launched a defiant defence of Ian Foster and Sam Cane prior to the All Blacks flying out to South Africa for their two Rugby Championship matches versus the Springboks. The rugby mood in New Zealand has been filthy in recent weeks following their 1-2 series defeat by Ireland. 

It generated huge criticism of head coach Foster and team captain Cane but both figureheads have remained in situ, the changes instead coming elsewhere in the All Blacks set-up with assistant coach Jason Ryan recruited and duo John Plumtree and Brad Mooar cut loose ahead of the games in Nelspirit and Johannesburg.  

Ahead of their flight out of Auckland, the All Blacks allowed Smith and fellow half-back Beauden Barrett to front the media and the scrum-half was especially critical of the criticism that Foster and Cane have been forced to endure since the Irish series crashed and burned.    

“I’ve got a lot of love for Fozzie [Foster]… you always feel for the men in the room. You know they care and to see a lot of the bad stuff around him and Sam Cane, it’s hurtful and it’s actually gone… it’s ridiculous how ruthless it’s actually been.

“I feel for them as men. We’re backing them and it’s up to us in the next two weeks to put a bit of pride back in the jersey for ourselves, but also the people who have been under the squeeze the most,” continued Smith who added the criticism has gone too far. “I think we can all admit that.” 

Reflecting on the week that the All Blacks have had together in picking up the pieces from the Ireland series and formulating plans to play the Springboks, Smith added: “The last two weeks there has definitely been a lot of outside noise.

“As a group, we had a good meeting on Monday and a lot of it is around these are the right people in the room and us players have to do our part, get our stuff sorted, get our preparation right. There is nothing better than the challenge of playing South Africa in South Africa. We know what is coming and it’s up to us as players to own our part of it and get our own stuff right.

“The noise is the noise. The pressure of wearing the black jersey, or coaching it, is big. We know that and it’s every time. We have had a couple of results not go our way, but it wasn’t for lack of effort as a group. The two days in Wellington were positive steps towards what we’re going to put out in South Africa.”