Ian Foster says "highly unlikely" he will be All Blacks coach after World Cup

A frustrated All Blacks coach Ian Foster has conceded he doesn’t think he’ll have the job after this year’s Rugby World Cup in an impassioned interview.

Foster told Newstalk’s ZB’s Mike Hosking that New Zealand’s Rugby decision to announce the next All Blacks coach before this year’s World Cup has become a distraction for the team while adding it’s highly unlikely he’ll be in charge of the team at the end of his current contract.

“I think it’s pretty highly unlikely that I will be in this job next year, but I keep getting asked about it if am I going to apply,” Foster said.

“The big question is what’s the best thing for the All Blacks in 2023. And for me, the team comes first and I want to express their view.

“I’m reading the tea leaves Mike and I think it looks like there’s a mood for a change. And, so for me, I’d like to put energy into that at the end of the year. Not now. My sole focus is on the World Cup and quite frankly, I think it’s highly unlikely that I’m going to be the next All Blacks coach anyway. But that’s, that to me is not my concern.”

It follows Foster making a plea to NZR in a Herald interview yesterday not to disrupt the All Blacks in World Cup year by beginning the hunt for the next coach in March.

Exclusive: Ian Foster’s plea to New Zealand Rugby over All Blacks’ ‘unnecessary burden’

A decision on the timing to appoint the next All Blacks coach is imminent, with all indications pointing towards a potentially divisive pre-World Cup contestable process ensuing.

The Herald reported earlier this month that New Zealand Rugby management, including chief executive Mark Robinson, head of professional rugby Chris Lendrum and soon-to-be-installed chair Dame Patsy Reddy, are preparing to deliver a recommendation on the coach that will then be put forward for internal feedback.

NZ Rugby set to confirm ‘unsettling’ timing of next All Blacks head coach within weeks

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson and Japan coach Jamie Joseph are considered strong candidates to challenge Foster for the job.

Foster said the whole discussion about who will apply for the job is not helping the team as players kick off the 2023 season and begin preparation for the World Cup in France in September-October.

“This is becoming more of a debate about who’s going to apply then what’s the right thing for the team. And for me, I know there’s going to be some people going to make decisions, I respect that and I respect whatever decision is made. But I believe I owe it to our team to say what I felt was the right thing for the All Blacks in a World Cup year,” he added.

Two weeks ago frontrunner Robertson told media at a Crusaders training session that the ‘next two weeks is big’ in reference to the All Blacks job. Foster eluded that NZR were favouring the Crusaders coach.

“I’m pretty sure they’ve got a clear idea and you know and that’s up to them to voice that. But it does seem to be reasonably obvious. I thought there was an interview with the coach last week that made it look like there was already plans in place to go early. And that was frustrating to hear that from another voice,” he told Mike Hosking.

Foster remains confident he can lead the All Blacks to a fourth World Cup title.

“Absolutely I can. And I’ll give everyone 100 percent commitment about that. It’s not like there’s gonna be bucket loads of excuses afterwards, but I also don’t believe in my own words of putting distractions unnecessarily on our shoulders, going into what I think is going to be a massive World Cup and a massive challenge,” he told Hosking.

“And for me and my team is we just want to go in and have clean air right through this year and not have people in my group making decisions on which regime they want to be part of and how that’s going to work and the maneuvering that goes around that.”

Foster, who took over as head coach in 2020, was standing on shaky ground following a home series defeat to Ireland last June before losing the opening Rugby Championship test in South Africa.

However, after an impressive performance in Johannesburg against the Springboks the following week, the NZR board made a “unanimous” decision to back Foster to the end of his contract at the conclusion of their World Cup campaign.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission