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'He's not going anywhere': Ex-All Blacks weigh in on Ian Foster's coaching future

By Sam Smith
(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Two former All Blacks have weighed in on the highly-speculated future of under-pressure All Blacks coach Ian Foster in the wake of New Zealand’s historic series defeat to Ireland.

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Foster is under immense public pressure to leave his post as All Blacks boss after guiding his side to a first-ever home series loss at the hands of the Irish, who convincingly beat the Kiwis 32-22 in Wellington on Saturday.

That result came a week after Ireland clinched a maiden win over the All Blacks in New Zealand, beating the hosts 23-12 in Dunedin.

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Sam Cane and Ian Foster speak to media after All Blacks loss to Ireland

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Sam Cane and Ian Foster speak to media after All Blacks loss to Ireland

As such, the All Blacks have now lost four of their last five tests – their worst run of form since they lost fives tests on the trot in 1998 – and have plummeted to a worst-ever World Rugby ranking of fourth place.

The series defeat to Ireland was also only their fourth-ever home series loss, and their first since France swept them over the course of two tests in 1994.

Now with the worst winning record of any All Blacks coach in the professional era (66.67 percent), Foster’s position at the helm of the All Blacks has come under fire.

After refusing to comment on his future in the role despite being asked to do so four times during Saturday’s post-match press conference, Foster was then made unavailable to speak to media by the All Blacks for his usual Sunday morning debrief.

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That was soon followed by a statement issued by New Zealand Rugby [NZR] chief executive Mark Robinson, who labelled the series defeat to Ireland as “not acceptable” and said a review into the performance of the All Blacks is now being undertaken.

All of this has led to a media and social media firestorm regarding what role Foster has with the All Blacks ahead of the Rugby Championship, which has drawn the ire of All Blacks great Sir John Kirwan.

Speaking on The Breakdown, Kirwan said he was left frustrated by Robinson’s statement as Foster’s livelihood remains in the balance with less than three weeks until the All Blacks open their two-test series against the Springboks in South Africa.

“That statement from the CEO really annoys me,” Kirwan said as he called into question the need for another review after NZR conducted a performance review of the All Blacks following their underwhelming 2021 campaign.

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“We’ve had it six months ago… Foster reviewed well, his assistants didn’t, and I presume he went and said, ‘We’ll fix it’. After six months, if it’s still clunky and it’s not working, what do you do?”

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Kirwan went on to claim that Robinson is “throwing his coach under the bus” by not providing a definitive statement about Foster’s position as as All Blacks coach as speculation continues to swirl about his future.

The 63-test World Cup winner added that something must change within the All Blacks to fix the “disconnection” within the playing group, which he suggested was similar to that of his ill-fated stint as Blues head coach between 2013 and 2015.

“I think there’s something wrong within the camp,” Kirwan told The Breakdown.

“I’ve never coached at that level, but I was a bad coach. We couldn’t win a football game, and it’s because I wasn’t good enough. I got reviewed and I had to change stuff. I still wasn’t good enough.

“We couldn’t win a fight. We’d lose games by two points, players just disconnected. There’s a disconnection in that team. I feel it. I don’t know for certain, but I feel a disconnection, and Ian Foster has to sort that out somehow.”

Kirwan’s fellow panellist and fellow ex-All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson, meanwhile, said that there won’t be a change of All Blacks head coach as he believed Foster is “determined” to hold onto the role and turn his side’s fortunes around.

“Ian Foster wants to keep this job. He is determined to be the All Blacks coach,” Wilson told The Breakdown.

“He is not going anywhere. He is not going anywhere. I think he is determined. He wants to help be a solution for the All Blacks.”

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In saying that, Wilson expressed concerns over the way in which the All Blacks performed against Ireland, but questioned whether it would be the right call to appoint a new head coach with the Rugby Championship a matter of weeks away.

“Clearly it’s concerning that we’re not starting well. It’s clearly concerning, and like you say, it looks as though we get to a point where we maybe run out of ideas, or the fact that, defensively, we start to gamble,” he said.

“We’re starting to gamble, guys running out of the line because we’re under that much pressure.

“Clearly there are some systematic things that we need to look at, but for us to try and make a change now, to put a group of coaches together for the Rugby Championship in two-and-a-half weeks’ time?”

Kirwan responded by saying that he doesn’t want to see anyone within the All Blacks lose their job, but reaffirmed that those involved with the side must ask hard questions of themselves in order to change their fortunes.

“All I’m saying is I don’t want to see anyone lose their job. I feel for Fozzie. I feel for the players, but if it’s not working – Colesy [All Blacks hooker Dane Coles] said it, we’ve always done it – look in the mirror and tell the truth,” he said.

“If someone’s not up to it, unfortunately, and it might be a player or a coach, then Fozzie will have to make some change.

“If all’s good and we’re on the right path, I go, ‘Okay, Ireland were better and we weren’t that good’, but I don’t see that at the moment. That’s what hurts me.”

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J
Jon 52 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 3 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 8 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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