CEO of NZR Mark Robinson responded to criticisms about himself and NZR in an extensive interview. Photo / Getty
CEO of NZR Mark Robinson responded to criticisms about himself and NZR in an extensive interview. Photo / Getty
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson says Ian Foster is the right man for the All Blacks, for now, and fended off criticisms aimed at his organisation.
In an extensive interview with Newstalk ZB's Jason Pine, Robinson touched on a wide range of subjects after another dramatic week for the All Blacks and New Zealand rugby.
Asked if he maintains that Foster is the right person to be head coach of the All Blacks, Robinson chose not to comment on Foster's future but reiterated that he was the man for the South African tour.
"As we've signalled he's certainly the person to lead the team to South Africa and we're making sure that we've got everything possible in the way of resourcing and support to make sure that's successful," Robinson said.
Robinson also refused to speak about speculation over Foster's job if the All Blacks were to lose to the Springboks.
"I'm not going to speculate on things like that. We're really focused and have spent time in the last 10 days primarily around focusing on our people internally when the sorts of things that have been going on with the speculation, and then making sure the team and then the management team have what they need to succeed."
New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson. Photo / Photosport
He echoed that sentiment when it came to Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, who this week dropped a bombshell on New Zealand rugby by admitting he was open to offers to coach rival test nations.
"We certainly understand the sentiment of our fans that's been coming through loud and clear. We know Razor has a huge amount to offer the game in New Zealand in the future and we've obviously got a contract with him around that. Commenting any further on that wouldn't be appropriate."
Robinson and NZ Rugby have also come under fire this week, with former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen accusing the organisation of presiding over a series of failures and labelling the relationship between the players and the board and the executive as "the worst it's ever been".
The rugby boss said he disagreed with some of Hansen's comments but looks forward to discussing those issues with his "good friend".
"He's someone I've known for a long time and I know he's passionate about the game and New Zealand. He's made a great contribution to it. I've certainly reached out to him and we'll have a catch-up at some stage," Robinson said. "He said some things that I wouldn't agree with and we'll have that conversation. I know he's also incredibly protective of Ian [Foster] and he's protecting his mate too – and we all understand that.
"Regarding the players' thing [their relationship with NZR], I think we're working really hard and really well at the moment in that space around things in general, but also with regards to a new partner coming on with Silver Lake.
"There's no question it went through some challenging times throughout working through bringing an investment partner on, but in our minds, we're well through that. The interaction we're having with [Players Association boss] Rob [Nichol] and his team is really constructive and positive. Certainly the way all the players and all of our camps engage with our teams and our partners also in the work that they do is really positive."
New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson. Photo / Photosport
He also said Silver Lake remained "incredibly supportive" through the All Blacks' disappointing results on the field.
In another blistering attack on NZR, former boss David Moffett said he believes Robinson, who is currently in Birmingham at the Commonwealth Games, needs to return home and "write his letter of resignation".
Moffett also called Robinson out for not speaking to the fans and failing to be "accountable".
Robinson said he remains committed to the role and accepts that "there's going to be criticism".
"The organisation is on a really exciting and solid path at the moment. We've come through Covid and obviously some other things around more recently with the disappointment with the series that we've had to contend with, but behind the scenes we're involved in some really exciting, constructive and positive stuff that I think can transform our game for the future.
"I'm really committed to that, I'm really privileged to be in the role, I love the role and being part of what we're building at New Zealand Rugby in a really strong team.
"I came into the role knowing that eventually there would be situations like this where people have strong views around things like that. You have to learn to accept that don't you. It's no different than any of the key public leadership roles in New Zealand."
On being accountable and transparent, Robinson said he "always intended to comment" but wanted to make sure NZR was "internally focused" and ultimately wait for the All Blacks to head off to South Africa before addressing anything in the media.
He did, however, admit that the controversial decision to cancel a press conference following the All Blacks' defeat wasn't good enough.
"We're doing everything in our power to make sure we understand the issues and we look to improve. Clearly some of the issues that happened on the back of that last performance in the communications weren't good enough also.
"We certainly had a lot of conversations about those issues as well internally. It's not the kind of organisation we want to be in terms of the way we communicate and front for our public and our fans."
