New challenge but not against the ABs
Later this year, Ian Foster will head to Japan to start a new chapter in his life.
He will reunite with Steve Hansen to coach Toyota Verblitz, where Aaron Smith now plays and where Joseph Manu will start his rugby education.
The 58-year-old isn’t shutting the door completely on the test arena, but he’s made a significant commitment to the Japanese club: when it really came to the crunch, the thought of coaching against the All Blacks just didn’t feel right.
“There were some international options to consider,” Foster said yesterday. “I just came to the conclusion that, right now, I’ve spent a long time at the All Blacks and I love the team.
“I selected a lot of the players that I’m pretty sure are going to be there for the next two or three years and it just didn’t really feel that comfortable for me, with the length of time I’ve been in the All Blacks, to coach against them.”
Foster is taking a lot of rugby IP with him. New Zealand rugby has been his life for decades, and he retains a strong emotional interest in seeing it thrive. He’s far from a pessimist, noting that there “is a lot of good stuff happening in the game”, and even that “Super Rugby is sort of settling down”.
“I think we’re all accepting now that it’s going to be a New Zealand and Australia competition,” he said. “So, now we have just got to get on board and get it going and ... and I think they’re making some reasonably good moves in that space.”
But, like many observers, he has watched the ongoing stoush over NZ Rugby governance reform with a degree of frustration.
“Now is a great time to review everything, isn’t it?” Foster said.
“I think this governance review ... it’s disappointing that it’s causing such a noise in the marketplace where the reality is it is ... a great chance to actually sweep the floor and start again, and actually create a model that fits where the game needs to go.”
Foster also has a clear view of where rugby can’t be allowed to go on the paddock, after a frustrating Rugby World Cup final that took 17 minutes longer to conclude than the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, by way of comparison.
He noted recent World Rugby statements about speeding up the game – “The proof will be in the pudding” – but put the heat on everyone to play their part.
“The time that the final took is unacceptable. The game understands that they need to change it.
“So, now it’s how we commit to doing it. “But, I think the other side of the coin is that we’ve all got to take ownership of that.
“Coaches have to take ownership of that and players have to take ownership of that too.
“We can’t allow players to get to the point that they feel they can slow the game down deliberately, because it was happening too much at the World Cup.”
Foster also has a new challenge looming in Japan, where Toyota Verblitz have fallen behind the standards set by Robbie Deans’ Saitama Wild Knights.
Even with Beauden Barrett and Smith on board this year, Toyota Verblitz are currently 27 competition points behind the league leaders.
Foster said the answer wasn’t simply a matter of loading up on international stars.
“It’s going be interesting for me to go over there and learn about what the gap is and where we feel we need to grow,” he said. “I think there’s some positive signs with Toyota about how they’ve been working hard in that development space.
“I think a lot is made of recruitment of overseas players, and I think that’s all exciting, but the key really is the quality of your Japanese players over there.”