Win or walk: Foster told to resign if ABs lose to Boks
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster is understood to have been told by his New Zealand Rugby bosses that they expect him to resign if his side loses in South Africa or fails to show definitive improvements.
The Herald understands the request was made by NZR chief executive Mark Robinson and general manager of professional rugby Chris Lendrum at a tense meeting at Foster’s house days after the All Blacks lost the series to Ireland.
At the same meeting, Foster presented his plan to reshape his coaching team by axing assistant coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar and bring in Crusaders forwards supremo Jason Ryan.
That move was approved, but Foster was told it might not be enough to save his job and that he was being given the series against South Africa to prove he was the right man to stay on as head coach.
It is believed that when told he should resign if performances and results didn’t measure up in South Africa, Foster made it clear that if Robinson wanted him out, he would have to sack him.
The inability of that exchange to provide any certainty about the fate of the head coach has added to the sense that there is a growing disconnect between Robinson and Foster.
Signs of disunity emerged on the Sunday after the third-test loss to Ireland, when after a pre-arranged media conference with Foster was cancelled without communication, Robinson said in a statement: “The performance across the series for the All Blacks was not acceptable.”
The following Friday, Foster fronted a media conference on his own at Auckland Airport to reveal the Rugby Championship squad. He also had to tell the media that coaching changes were in the pipeline but due to an ongoing process, he couldn’t say what they were.
The Herald is aware that several leading figures in the rugby fraternity made overtures for Robinson to be at Foster’s side to handle the questions about the potential coaching changes as they were employment matters and therefore in the chief executive’s wheelhouse.
A week later, after having not spoken publicly since the statement after the third test, Robinson said on Jason Pine’s Newstalk ZB show: “As we’ve signalled, he’s certainly the person to lead the team to South Africa and we’re making sure that we’ve got everything possible in the way of resourcing and support . . .”
The implication was clear — Foster was only definitely in charge for the next two tests, but no details have been offered on what results the All Blacks need to achieve or what performance criteria they need to meet for him to keep his job.
Speculation has arisen that NZ will need to win at least one of the two tests, but it is not known if that has been specified to the coach. Nor is it clear what will happen if the team lose both and Foster can’t be persuaded to fall on his sword.
Robinson was asked to confirm whether Foster had been given specific feedback on what was expected and whether he had been told of the consequences of those targets not being met.
Robinson said he couldn’t comment on any talks held with highperformance personnel.
This move to encourage Foster to resign is thought to be related to a reluctance on the part of NZR to incur yet more termination costs. The national body had to buy Mooar out of a three-year contract with the Scarlets club in Wales in 2020, possibly costing about $400,000.
It then had to pay Mooar again and Plumtree when their two-year contracts were terminated with about 18 months left to run. Both are likely to have earned about $500,000 a year.
Foster, believed to be paid close to $1 million a year, would come with an expensive payout if sacked, and a new head coach likely would want to bring in his own people, meaning the rest of the contracted staff — Scott McLeod, Greg Feek and Andrew Strawbridge — would also have to be paid out. The total cost of terminating the contracts of Foster and his wider coaching team could exceed $3m.