“I haven’t seen any progress”: Devine concerned for All Blacks under Foster

Former All Blacks halfback Steve Devine says New Zealand hasn’t made any improvements in Ian Foster’s two seasons in charge of the team.

On Sunday, the All Blacks slumped to a 40-25 loss to France, falling to successive defeats to finish the year after last week’s 29-20 loss to Ireland.

Since getting the top job over Crusaders boss Scott Robertson, Foster has faced lots of criticism from fans and pundits but this latest loss has only piled the pressure on even more.

After the match, Foster defended himself, insisting the team has made progress in his two years at the helm, but Devine strongly disagrees.

“I haven’t seen any progress (under Foster),” Devine said on SENZ’s Bleeding Black.

“I get that some teams lose, but sometimes you lose and feel you play alright. I haven't seen the All Blacks offer anything since the start of the season in July.

“I don't think there has been any progress in two years. It’s a similar team to the one which went to the World Cup.

“We are a good team, but we struggle getting on the front foot and to look after the ball. It’s costing us Test matches.

“You can’t build pressure if you can’t hang onto the ball and we can only hang onto it for a few phases and we are relying on our long-range tries to keep us in the game.”

During his playing days, Devine spent some time under Foster with the New Zealand A’s side that played three games ahead of the 2005 British and Irish Lions series.

“I wasn’t exactly joyous about his coaching,” says Devine.

“It was quite loose and unorganized as nobody really knew their role. I look at the team now and it’s exactly what I'm seeing.”

The loss to France marks Foster's fifth Test loss in charge (15 wins, one draw) since taking the reins from Sir Steve Hansen at the start of 2020.

Five of those wins have come against tier two nations with comprehensive victories against Tonga USA, Fiji (twice) and Italy.