ALL BLACKS BOSS Ian Foster said he still loves wing Mark Telea after dropping him for the World Cup quarter-final against Ireland due to a disciplinary breach.
26-year-old Telea, who has been brilliant since his Test debut last year, has been left out of the massive clash in Paris on Saturday, with Leicester Fainga’anuku picked in the number 11 jersey in his place.
“He breached the protocol, nothing major, but enough to keep him out of selection for this week,” said Foster this evening at the All Blacks’ team hotel east of Paris.
“I still love him, he trained well, it happens.
“Look, it is what it is. For us it’s pretty clean-cut, I don’t really want to talk about it anymore. We’ve dealt with it as a team and moved on.”
Foster was asked about the decision again later in the press conference and stressed that Telea’s breach was “minor.”
Asked if he is concerned that a key player would break team rules ahead of such a massive week, Foster instead said he believes the decision underlines how much store the All Blacks put in their protocols.
“We believe in what we stand for and that speaks volumes for the team that we make that sort of decision in this sort of week.”
Meanwhile, Foster outlined the reasoning behind some of his other selection decisions.
Finlay Christie has been picked ahead of the in-form Cam Roigard as the back-up scrum-half.
“We just felt it was horses for courses for this particular game. We think Finlay has got an edge defensively,” said Foster.
“We think there’s a lot of action likely to happen around the ruck defensively. We’ve been delighted with Cam’s form and in a different type of game it might have gone slightly differently but for this one here we’ve gone for that.”
The Kiwis have gone for the inexperienced Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell as their reserve props, ahead of the experienced duo of Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Nepo Laulala.
“It was tough,” said Foster. “We’ve got six props and three hookers that we’re happy to start them all at the moment. Everyone is fit and healthy and we just feel it’s the right mix.
“Probably a little bit of mobility and agility defensively is the one catalyst in that. We feel the scrum is going well regardless of who goes in there, so we’re confident on the scrum side of it.
“Just the areas we believe we’re going to be challenge and where we need to challenge Ireland, Fletcher and Taimaiti just give us a little bit more in that space this week.”
Foster also said there was temptation to give Damian McKenzie a start but he will be used off the bench on Saturday.
“He’s playing well and I like the combinations with him. Like the fact that we’ve got a change-up option as the game unfolds,” said Foster.
“I think the trio of Richie, Beaudie, and Damian is working really well for us in whichever format we have. We’re also really delighted with Richie’s form and Beaudie’s form so it’s always tough decisions.
“The great thing is that Damian has come in and really put his hand up with his form and it gives us a good impact off that bench.”
Ireland enjoyed a series success in New Zealand last year and have beaten the Kiwis in three of their four meetings since Andy Farrell took charge.
But Foster was keen to suggest that history is not relevant when the knock-out game kicks off.
“I don’t think the past matters,” said Foster. “You learn a lot from the past but you learn it at the time and it becomes part of who you are and it becomes part of us as a team. This team is ready, we’ve prepared well with this in mind.
“If you look at this year, the whole thing is about getting ready for a World Cup and making sure that we’re primed to perform at this stage of the tournament.
“We’re excited about it. We know the size of the challenge and how good Ireland are. They deserve all the plaudits they get but play-off rugby is about who’s best on the day.”
