Ian Foster hits back at critics after win over South Africa at Ellis Park
Ian Foster is relieved with New Zealand's win in Johannesburg
©PA
New Zealand head coach Ian Foster has slammed the critics following their victory over South Africa at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The All Blacks headed into the game after losing five out of their last six games and had slipped to the fifth position in the World Rugby Rankings with Foster taking the most of criticism.
Nevertheless, they made a strong comeback in Johannesburg as David Havili and Scott Barrett scored tries in the final five minutes to complete a 23-35 victory and also registering their first win in the ongoing Rugby Championship tournament.
“It [stress] comes with the job. It has been pretty vicious,” Foster said.
“There has been a lot of onslaught, particularly from our New Zealand media. They’ve got high expectations of us and they’ve made that loud and clear. They’ve clearly come very, very strong at me as a person.
“Some of them have even called our selections popgun, which I found quite insulting for players that give everything to play for their nation.
“That pressure has been strong but it doesn’t change the fact that through adversity that’s the best teacher for character and we’ve stayed tight.”
Foster also urged the need to show patience after a tough start to the year where they lost a home series against Ireland.
“It’s hard to win all the time and if everyone knew the formula of how to do that we’d all be doing it all the time,” said Foster.
“And when you look at long-term success it often starts with a bit of adversity, it starts at a low point.
“We’ve lost three in a row this year and it hurt but I felt last week was our best performance of the year.
“We saw signs of our combativeness – we missed a beat at the breakdown but we’ve grown through that. We’re breeding a few young boys and a few new combinations and that takes time.
“Some people don’t have patience and I understand that; I get the frustrations, but inside the camp that doesn’t mean a lot to us.
“What’s important is how we pull together and work hard, and keep growing.”
