In a typically soap opera-esque rugby day, a matter of hours after newly-installed NZ Rugby chair Dame Patsy Reddy fronted a press conference at short notice in Wellington to confirm the next All Blacks coach will be appointed by mid-April, Ian Foster overshadowed that announcement with another jab at the national body and his intent not to reapply for his role.
“As I said last week, I felt the best thing for our team and for our entire management group was to have this process done after the Rugby World Cup,” Foster said. “That hasn’t happened but we will accept the decision and move on.
“My sole focus remains unchanged. It is to lead this All Blacks team and management group in our planning and preparation so that we go to France with the goal of winning the Rugby World Cup and making this country proud. I won’t be reapplying for the job of head coach.”
In four-to-six weeks, the All Blacks will install a new head coach from 2024. Foster standing or being forced aside, leaves a two-horse race between successful Crusaders mentor Scott Robertson and Highlanders turned Japan coach Jamie Joseph to assume charge next year.
Will Crusaders coach Scott Robertson finally land his dream job? Photo / Photosport
The New Zealand Rugby board met last week to rubberstamp a pre-World Cup All Blacks coaching appointment that chief executive Mark Robinson strongly indicated last December was likely to transpire.
In their slow-moving approach to publicly confirm the process, the narrative has since been shaped before the eyes of the NZ Rugby powerbrokers.
With the writing for his position on the wall, Foster first went on the front foot last week to denounce the decision to go early, suggesting among other things it would create an unnecessary burden, a major distraction, for his team and management as they prepare to contest a hugely competitive World Cup in France in September.
Foster was hardly a tarot reader when he said then the appointment timing, heavily stacked against the incumbent, meant he did not expect to be All Blacks coach next year.
Addressing the timing shift from previous World Cup cycles, Reddy referenced the 2019 process that led to Foster’s appointment over Robertson when several other contenders, such as Dave Rennie and Joseph, accepted jobs elsewhere and did not contest the All Blacks role.
Four years on, though, with England, Wales and Australia locking in long-term coaching changes in the New Year, that argument is decidedly less relevant.
“We’re all passionate about this. It’s important to the country. We understand that,” Reddy said.
“There’s no perfect timeframe. We feel for the future of the game, it’s better to have certainty now rather than get into a World Cup and have turmoil and concern about what will happen after the World Cup. We think it’s better to be clear now.
“It’s best to make a decision sooner and then we’ll be absolutely fully focused and 100 per cent behind the coach and his team. We’ve told them that, and they’re comfortable with that.
“We’re going to do it with the utmost integrity and robustness.
“We’ve seen a number of players, while they’re fully focused on the World Cup, decide they’re looking to the future. It’s normal in high performance sport both athletes and coaches are looking to the future.”
Reddy said NZ Rugby spoke with Foster, his All Blacks management and the team’s senior leadership before confirming the coaching appointment timing.
“We’ve told them what we’re doing and we’ve got their feedback.”
Asked at the time whether Foster would reapply for his position, Reddy said: “That’s up to Ian.”
With a new All Blacks coach imminent, Foster faces the unprecedented prospect of leading the team knowing his tenure’s clear end date later this year.
“Ian Foster is our man. I’m absolutely behind him,” Reddy said. “He’s very highly skilled with great integrity and his whole team are going to take us to victory at Rugby World Cup 2023.”
The ramifications of a new All Blacks coach will be far-reaching.
Foster’s wider established management team will almost certainly undergo a major cleanout, with influential forwards coach Jason Ryan, elevated mid-last season, the only assistant coach that may feel comfortable.
A Robertson appointment in particular would also instigate a seismic shift, leaving the Crusaders, Blues and Hurricanes searching for new head coaches.
Realistically, Robertson and Joseph are the only candidates in line to contest the All Blacks job. Given the timing, the Herald understands the widely regarded Joe Schmidt is highly unlikely to apply. So, too, Rennie.
While Joseph brings long-time assistant Tony Brown to the table, the scrap for the All Blacks coaching teams will be well under way.
Jamie Joseph (right) has formed a formidable coaching team with Tony Brown. Photo / Photosport
NZ Rugby has kept in close contact with Robertson and Joseph in recent times, and is understood to have started compiling a coaching appointment panel.
“We’re not going to talk about the details of the process but we feel we have got a good group of potential candidates,” Reddy said.
Whether NZ Rugby opts to appoint Robertson or Joseph as the next All Blacks coach, addressing the obvious festering fracture between the team and headquarters must be a priority, despite Reddy claiming no divisions exist.
“I’m hoping there are none. We’ve got a good relationship with the team going forward and I’m determined to continue developing that.
“We’re only in charge of what we can control. I’m confident we’ve done the best we can in the process.
“We’ve come out now to make it clear because there has been a lot of conjecture in the media. We learn from our mistakes if we’ve made any but let’s see where we get to.”
