All Blacks boss misses SA franchises in Super Rugby: 'They brought a different style'

If New Zealand coach Ian Foster had his way, South African teams would never have left Super Rugby.

South Africa effectively cut ties with the competition after the Covid-19 pandemic saw the 2020 tournament cancelled. 

Speaking on Sky New Zealand's rugby show, The Breakdown, Foster said that he understood the reasons why South African teams had moved to the Northern Hemisphere to play in the United Rugby Championship. 

"It's been well-documented why South Africa aren't in it at the moment," said Foster when asked if the competition missed South African teams. 

"The travel would have been impossible the last two or three years, and before that, a lot of the South African top players were leaving and playing in Europe, which sort of weakened their teams," he added.

Foster belives that South African teams offered a unique challenge that was no longer available to New Zealand teams. 

"In an ideal world, I loved having South Africa in the competition. They brought a different style, and now we've just got to find other ways to grow our experience of playing them."

However, it's not only the South African teams that left the tournament.

Both the Sunwolves (Japan) and Jaguares (Argentina) were axed.

Fijian Drua (Fiji) and Moana Pasifika (Samoa) added to the tournament, renamed Super Rugby Pacific. 

The All Blacks will get their chance to face the Springboks this year in the Rugby Championship in two fixtures, both in South Africa. 

They take place on Saturday, 6 August at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit and Saturday, 13 August at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.