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Ian Foster: We went up two notches, Fiji only went up one

July 17, 2021

The All Blacks coach took plenty of positives from tonight's 60-13 win over Fiji.

All Blacks coach Ian Foster is feeling pleased with tonight's win over Fiji in Hamilton, praising his men for playing "clinical rugby" in testing conditions.

The All Blacks took down Fiji 60-13 after being tested early on once again from the physical Fijians.

Foster said he was happy with tonight's performance though after being tested by the Pacific team in Dunedin last week.

"I think we probably went up two notches and Fiji went up one notch," Foster said after the match.

"They certainly came out and played really well in that first part and clearly worked on the impact of their bench in that last part and they got a good result for that but I loved our patience through that."

Ian Foster.

Foster conceded they weren't as clean as he'd like in the opening moments, especially around their lineout in which they lost the ball on three separate occassions inside Fiji's 22, but felt they recovered well.

"The way Sam got the guys composed... we calmed down and played some really good, clinical rugby," Foster said.

"I thought our set piece was strong, we missed a few lineouts early but once we got that going it was good. Our lineout and drive was accurate and our scrum grew in confidence and our play off that was effective."

After being tested at the breakdown and on attack last week in Dunedin though, Foster said tonight's performance was a step forward for a team now looking at the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship to come.

"We were playing against a team that exposed us last week and I feel like we've supplied the remedy."

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