New Zealand coach Scott McLoed has spoken out in defence of All Blacks manager Ian Foster, claiming that his comments after Saturday’s win over Ireland were taken out of context. The showdown finished 28-24 in New Zealand’s favour, crushing Ireland’s hopes of making their first ever Rugby World Cup semi-final.
With Johnny Sexton and co pushing hard in the latter stages of the contest, a 37-phase attack from Ireland was described after the final whistle as ‘cut-and-paste’ by All Blacks head coach Foster.
“[They were doing] the same sort of things,” he continued. “We were really patient with how we defended it.” The remark raised eyebrows among Ireland fans, but defensive mastermind McLoed insists that it should never have been taken in a negative light.
“It wasn’t a derogatory comment at all,” he said. “Cut-and-paste meant that they just kept running the same shape, the attacking shape.
“They just kept trying to find a weakness in us, over and over and over again. They are one of the best attacking sides in the world. They make you make constant decisions and they test your execution.
“They just kept trying to run the same stuff against us and what I am saying is that I’m really proud that no one in our line really tried to win that on their own or win that moment on their own.
Defeat against the All Blacks came as a crushing blow for Ireland, who had made a major statement of intent by notching a pool stage win over reigning world champions South Africa.
And the result signalled the end of Sexton’s professional rugby career. The long-serving Ireland captain was visibly emotional after the final whistle and footage of a heart-warming embrace with his son went viral on social media.
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