Foster left with work to do despite All Blacks' Bledisloe win

Richie Mo'unga of the All Blacks in action during the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup match against the Australia Wallabies at Eden Park on August 7, 2021 in Auckland
Richie Mo'unga of the All Blacks in action during the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup match against the Australia Wallabies at Eden Park on August 7, 2021 in Auckland
Image: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images

New Zealand coach Ian Foster said the All Blacks need to improve ahead of the second Bledisloe Cup clash with Australia after seeing his side concede late tries in the first meeting of the series in Auckland on Saturday.

The All Blacks won the opening meeting of the series 33-25 at Eden Park, having led by 25 points going into the later stages of the game, and the teams are due to meet again at the same venue in the second test on Saturday.

"It keeps life pretty interesting for a coach," Foster said, according to the New Zealand Herald.

"There's clearly plenty to work on in those spells but it's a first test and the Bled was always going to be massive.

"They came over here very well prepared and threw everything at us. We were doing really well but it's disappointing. We take a lot of pride in how we finish.

"There's some things we'll take away to work on."

Tries from Sevu Reece, Richie Mo'unga, David Havili and Damian McKenzie put the All Blacks in control although a pair of five-pointers from Tom Banks and a late score from Jordan Uelese gave the scoreline a respectable sheen for the Wallabies.

"At 33-8 we should have done better, but at the end of the day it's a Bledisloe Cup series; we've put a stake in the ground, we're 1-0 up and we're looking forward to next week," Foster said.

The game also marked Aaron Smith's 100th All Blacks appearance and the scrum-half was delighted to mark the occasion with a win.

"I can remember my first test here in 2012 and it's flown by," Smith told the Herald.

"It's been a high stress week with trying to keep the emotions in check and sort the family, the tickets, the transport but most importantly I'm really happy we won.

"It was an awesome test match to be part of so it's a really nice feeling to win on Eden Park."

- Reuters

 

subscribe

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.