Foster’s desire never in question
Coach has chance to sign off as a world rugby champion
Te Awamutu Sports legend and New Zealand coach Ian Foster’s contribution to All Blacks rugby should be acknowledged — regardless of how his final campaign in charge ends.
The proud Waikato man’s team took on the world’s top-ranked team, Ireland, on Sunday morning (NZT) in the quarter-final stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
It was a match that Foster described mid-week as one of three successive “finals” the side would have to win if they were to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time since 2015.
Foster was four years into his 12-year stint with the All Blacks when the side triumphed in the UK in 2015; a victory that came mid-way through his eight-season tenure as an assistant to then-head coach Sir Steve Hansen.
During that time with Hansen, the All Blacks won a staggering 93 of the 108 tests they played; losing just 10
of those clashes. The highlight was definitely the Rugby World Cup
triumph. On the negative side were the semifinal stage exit four years
later in Japan — a campaign that doubled as Hansen’s swansong — and the drawn series against the 2017 touring British & Irish Lions.
Foster took over the head coaching role in the wake of Japan ‘19, and he’s been no stranger to tough, painful and pressure-filled times during his four-year tenure.
That includes overseeing the first All Blacks team to lose to Argentina, losing a first test series to Ireland and then a six-test run in 2022 that featured five losses.
He kept his job while some of his assistant coaches were fired. Supporters of Scott Robertson painted Foster as Public Enemy No 1.
It’s often said the All Blacks coach’s job is the second most important in the land; just behind that of whoever is Prime Minister.
And Foster — and more importantly, his family — has felt that scrutiny. No one forced Foster to become coach but, at times, the level of criticism he has faced has gone beyond what anyone should face.
Foster made no secret that he wanted to do all he could to ensure his team was up to winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup; a result that would he see him going out on a winning note.
Regardless, Foster should be thanked for giving his all in what is one of the most high-profile and, at times, the most thankless jobs in New Zealand.