All Blacks v Argentina: New Zealand coach Ian Foster rewriting the final pages of his legacy

Ian Foster’s legacy as All Blacks coach has taken a radical turn – and it could go even further as a Rugby World Cup final beckons.

With Ian Foster’s tenure as All Blacks coach entering its final 160 minutes of regulation-time footy, the man whose journey in the big job has come with some painful lows could take comfort from knowing he has finished on a relative high.

Defeat to Argentina in Paris today would of course be a new low – a first World Cup loss to Los Pumas completing Foster’s set of being the first All Blacks boss to lose to that team in tests at home and away.

But with last Saturday’s remarkable victory over Ireland Foster’s men have secured a better World Cup result than many Kiwis had thought they would manage. They played out of skins to beat the best team in the world, and advanced past the toughest.

From here, Foster’s World Cup legacy as head coach will be no worse than that of John Hart, the only man to coach the All Blacks to a fourth-place finish (1999). Even with an unlikely semifinal defeat to Argentina, his side could yet match those of Alex Wylie (1991) and John Mitchell (2003), whose sides won the least-relevant matches any sporting event can stage: rugby’s playoff for third and fourth.

Not bad for a bloke that many of us – his bosses included – had adjudged to be not up to the job. Many pundits believed the All Blacks were likely to be defeated in the quarter-final by either France or Ireland.

The pessimistic view was proved wrong, but the reasoning was sound, and certainly seemed to strike a chord at NZ Rugby headquarters, where Scott Robertson got the nod for the top job.

Foster’s reign has brought a series of unfortunate firsts: the Argentinian defeats, the series loss to Ireland, being beaten in a Rugby World Cup pool game.

Under Foster’s stewardship it took just 30 games for the All Blacks to record eight defeats. With his predecessor, Steve Hansen, that mark was reached in a more daunting 95 tests.

The path to redemption began with last year’s crucial selection reversals – in the front row, the Barrett household, and (most crucially) the coaching staff. The side Ireland faced last weekend was different from the one they beat the year before.

But Foster will want more than just the Irish scalp. The All Blacks are on the verge of a place in the final – the story of Foster’s legacy might yet have one more stunning chapter.

Winston Aldworth is NZME’s Head of Sport and has been a journalist since 1999.