All Blacks coach Ian Foster with his Irish opposite Andy Farrell. Photo / Mark Mitchell
All Blacks coach Ian Foster with his Irish opposite Andy Farrell. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Opinion
If Ian Foster felt he was under pressure before yesterday's game then the weight now must be unbearable.
The All Blacks appear in a downward spiral and with time ticking as the World Cup looms into view, New Zealand Rugby now faces a difficult decision - stick with a head coach who has now lost four of his past five tests, or start afresh.
It is worth noting that for the one game New Zealand did win in that stretch, Foster was not present in the build-up due to Covid. "This was a very good Irish team," Foster said after losing the series, and he is right of course. Ireland's attack was so fluid and potent and their defence impeccably well-drilled in those opening 40 minutes.
New Zealand lacked all those qualities and were in a 3-22 hole by the break, having barely fired a shot, produced multiple handling errors and failed to generate any decent line-out ball, meaning no platform.
Beauden Barrett's high bomb when the All Blacks were attacking deep in Ireland's half, taken coolly by Mack Hansen, was utterly perplexing.
All Blacks first five-eighths Beauden Barrett makes a break between Ireland fist five-eighths Jonathan Sexton and lock Tadhg Beirne. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Yes, New Zealand fought back to make it a three-point deficit in the second half largely thanks to Ardie Savea, but the damage of the first half and final 10 minutes is what will have stuck with the thousands walking out of Wellington's Sky Stadium.
On Sky Sports, former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick summed it up well: "We were out-coached, without question."The All Blacks used to worry about peaking too early before the World Cup, so at least that is no longer a concern. And when you consider the following facts it is difficult to see how Foster keeps his job, unless NZR opts to clear out his assistants and bring in new backroom staff."
New Zealand have now lost back-to-back tests at home for the first time since 1998, and this is also their worst run of form since losing five tests in a row in that same year under John Hart. Foster's winning percentage has dipped below 70 per cent and is the worst of any All Blacks head coach in the professional era. This was New Zealand's first home series defeat since 1994.
The decision to extend his contract last year through to the World Cup, before the All Blacks had faced South Africa or toured Europe, with hindsight now seems presumptuous. The theory after the defeats by France and Ireland in the autumn was that New Zealand lacked physicality, but there are now clearly more issues than that.
Some of the other losses have come when they have been missing key players through injury, but despite Scott Barrett's late withdrawal with an Achilles issue - not enough of an excuse to explain New Zealand losing four out of 16 line-outs - this was close to the All Blacks' supposed strongest line-up.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster with his Irish opposite Andy Farrell. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock at lock, Sam Cane and Ardie Savea in the back row, the first-choice centre pairing of David Havili and Rieko Ioane. Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett, the illustrious half-back pairing, were present. Incredibly talented players not performing at their best tends to lead to eyes falling on the coaching box.
The problem for Foster is that there is a long line of talented coaches queuing up to take his place. Joe Schmidt has been around the set-up during this series. Warren Gatland's return to New Zealand always seemed to be made with the prospect of coaching the All Blacks in mind.
But the obvious contender, despite his lack of Test experience, is Scott Robertson. The Crusaders head coach seems to win every competition his side play in, with six titles to date, and the decision to choose Foster over Robertson two years ago was contentious. If the job does not come Robertson's way soon, then nations and clubs across the globe will be lining up to appoint him.
You can understand why Foster might now be looking over his shoulder, ahead of two tricky Tests in South Africa. Given this is New Zealand's worst run of form in almost 25 years and the quality coaches waiting in the wings, it is hard to see how he can continue.
