Ian Foster on who All Blacks would prefer to play in quarters

When asked about whether the All Blacks have a preference on who they play in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals, coach Ian Foster offered a simple reply after New Zealand’s 73-nil win over Uruguay.

“I think you know my answer to that, no,” the coach said with a steady smirk on his face, before pausing for a moment. The All Blacks have been written off by many rugby fans ahead of the knockout stage, but the players themselves “fancy” their chances.

New Zealand opened their World Cup campaign with a disappointing loss to hosts France. It was their first-ever loss during the pool stage in tournament history.

But the All Blacks bounced back with three clinical victories to secure their spot in the knockout stage of the competition. New Zealand are quarterfinal-bound.

While the All Blacks have locked in their place, they’ll have to wait another couple of days to see whether they play Ireland, South Africa or Scotland in just over one week’s time.

“I don’t want to put myself under any stress in the next three days,” coach Foster said after the big win over Uruguay.

“What will be, will be, and people will theorise what they do. We will go away and have a nice glass of wine in our hotel tonight and celebrate being there. Looking forward to recovery tomorrow.

“Clearly we have a plan for whoever it may be. At this stage we are excited about us being there, it is our first goal achieved and let’s get into the next one.”

By coach Foster’s own admission, the All Blacks will probably finish second in pool play for the first time. Les Bleus are in control of their own destiny and simply needs to beat Italy on Friday to lock in pole position.

The All Blacks would probably book a date with world No. 1 Ireland, barring a stunning upset loss to Six Nations rivals Scotland on Saturday evening.

“No, I think we will make the assumption we will finish second,” Foster added. “The Italy-France game is important now and it will be interesting to see how teams respond.

“The great thing about the draw from many perspectives is that first or second, we know when you have a draw and the top four in the world are due to play each other in a quarter-final, you know whatever happens it is going to be a monster game.

“Nothing is going to surprise us now and we will be ready for it.”