NEW ZEALAND HEAD coach Ian Foster didn’t spark any further controversy when asked to weigh in on the bizarre spying claims raised during Ireland’s Captain’s Run press conference at the Stade de France today.
During this morning’s media session, a TV journalist from New Zealand asked Ireland attack coach Mike Catt if they had a team photographer at the All Blacks’ training session in Paris yesterday.
The question was based on a photographer from Inpho Sports Photography who works closely with Ireland during tournaments attending the short media vision access portion of the training session, which would be a routine part of the job on most Test weeks.
Catt laughed off the suggestion and later on Friday, Foster was asked for his thoughts.
“I never heard of it,” Foster replied in his typically languid style. “I haven’t seen any little photographer hiding under bushes at our training. I don’t mean to be flippant, but I never heard of it… Tense old time, isn’t it?”
Foster was happy to shrug off the suggestion before speaking confidently about his team’s chances in tomorrow’s quarter-final across an entertaining and engaging press conference, with the New Zealander warning the media the questions “better be interesting” after his 40-minute car journey across the city.
“I’m always relaxed when we’ve prepared well and we have,” he explained.
“I enjoyed watching the players prepare this week, they’re keen. We know what’s ahead of us, I can’t wait.
“The work they have done, the work we have put in in the last three or four months really (gives me confidence). We’ve always known coming to this World Cup that assuming we did the business in the pool, it was most likely Ireland or South Africa. Either way you have got a monster quarter-final. It’s not like this is a surprise.
“Mentally we have been ready for it and mentally we know that we have to prepare a week at a time.
“I have full belief in this group. If you look at the quarter-finals, there are going to be four quality teams that won’t be in the semi-finals ands we’re pretty determined that we’re not one of them.
“We know it is going to be a massive game. The only way to go into these games is believing in your game and who you are, and we do.
“I’ve probably already given them (the players) my final message: really, I just think trust themselves, trust the work we’ve done as a group and trust the work we’ve done on the field and off the field and go out and express yourself.
“Quarter-finals, we don’t want to die wondering, you don’t want to go in your shell, you still want to play our game and it’s important to us that we do.”
The New Zealand boss also discussed whether Joe Schmidt’s inside knowledge of the Ireland camp can be an influential factor in the game.
“Look, I think no more than normal. Joe’s been awesome since he joined us last year. I think the information and the different coaching background that he had, he’s been able to bring that influence in from the middle of last year. So, there’s been nothing more, it hasn’t been heavily loaded towards his insight into Irish rugby.
“In a funny old way, when you get into the play-offs, it’s actually become more and more about us than probably what you think. And I am sure Ireland’s the same. They’ve got a lot of belief in their game, we’ve got a lot belief in ours. So for us it’s about mastery of what we do and making some adaptations based on the opposition we play.
“I am sure there will be some mixed emotions for Joe in some ways. He’s very passionate, he loved his time in Ireland and it was a very special time for him. But he’s loving his time in this team too and we’re enjoying having him.”