Ian Foster has had to think on his feet as the way forward in these times of the pandemic makes the journey to the Rugby World Cup in France tricky.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster spent eight years meticulously preparing for arguably the most scrutinised job in his sport, possibly his country; then had to tear up the rulebook because a pandemic came along and turned the world as we know it on its head.
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That adaptability, that ability to think on his feet, to adjust on the fly and keep the good ship All Blacks sailing along with the wind mostly in its sails has earned him the ultimate endorsement from the people who matter most – his bosses at New Zealand Rugby handed him a two-year contract extension just before jumping on the plane for Perth to play out the Rugby Championship on Aussie soil.
It was the proverbial load off the head coach’s shoulders as he headed off for assignment No.2 – to add the eToro Rugby Championship silverware to the Bledisloe Cup they had a few weeks earlier tucked away for a 19th successive year.
Here he was, facing an unprecedented three-plus months on the road with his All Blacks – “a tour like no other”, was how he described it – and he now had a clear run through until the 2023 World Cup in France.
Not everyone was satisfied. Some critics would have preferred the suits at Kiwi rugby HQ had delayed that decision until Foster’s men had measured themselves against someone not named the Wallabies.
What harm would another month or two have done, they wondered aloud.
But the men that matter had seen enough through the first five tests of 2021 to light the fuse on the extension.
As far as they were concerned they had their man and the benefits to be gained from sending him off on the longest road trip the All Blacks have ever made in the professional era without his job hanging over his head exceeded any upside from waiting longer for a more considered decision.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity,” reflected Foster who spend eight years as Steve Hansen’s chief assistant before stepping into the top job.
“It’s pretty special. So the fact NZ Rugby has seen what we’re doing, that we’re working hard with this group of men, and we’re really pleased with the progress … it’s certainly a vote of confidence, as well as a continuation of a lot of work we need to keep putting in for what we want to achieve in the next two years.”
NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson was part of the group that recommended Foster’s retention, in the face of a compelling Plan B in Crusaders serial winner Scott Robertson.
He said it had been an easy call to make, despite the fact the All Blacks had yet to be tested against any of their fellow top-five sides in the world over the past two years.
“We’ve been incredibly fortunate to have someone like Ian here at a time like Covid,” said Robinson.
“Everyone will form views on the rugby side from what they see on the park, but what I can reassure you is it hasn’t been easy right across the game, and to have someone with that level of experience and composure, and a calm and really caring nature working behind the scenes to help pull things together … we’ve been lucky having someone with that character and those values to drive the environment.
“We haven’t had the chance to weigh things up that we ordinarily would have, but we've seen a lot of progress from reviews undertaken last year through the way the team is tracking this year, and we felt the balance of timing was right between not waiting too long and creating undue uncertainty in the environment and having seen enough to move forward and get things tidied up.”
It’s an interesting call for sure. Foster, by his own admission, did not hit the standards required last year when his All Blacks won only half of their six Test matches.
And, sure, the results in 2021 had been positive with five straight Test victories heading to the championship clash in Perth.
But they had been against a woefully under-strength Tonga, a Fiji side still finding its feet in the top echelon and a Wallabies outfit very much in rebuilding mode.
Foster is adamant the last two campaigns, conducted under the long, dark cloud of the pandemic, had been character-building and instructional.
Nothing had been easy for anyone – his own All Blacks included. And even with the decade of experience he now has in the test arena, he had learnt a whole new level of adaptability.
“From my previous eight years we had taken a lot of pride in our preparation and our structure,” he reflects.
“Certainly the last 18 months you would almost chuck a lot of that out the window. So how we’ve adapted our plans to work with schedules we’ve been given … high-performance sport and Covid don’t exactly mix in terms of the traditional model, so we’ve had to adapt and change a lot. That’s been a strength.
“We’ve learnt a bit about ourselves through that phase and it’s drawn us closer because our players have had to work a lot together on how we change as a team and that’s been really positive for us.”
The jury remains out on these All Blacks around their ability to respond to a team that is able to squeeze them up front, and deny them the front-foot ball they so thrive on.
Adjusting on the hoof remains somewhat of an Achilles heel, though the looming contests against the daunting Boks seem set to answer a few questions on that front.
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Never mind. Foster has the certainty he needs to push on and keep building towards a peak in 2023, when it really matters.
“How we’re progressing and the way players are buying into stuff and starting to express themselves, I’m delighted with. Some of the blocks underneath are going powerfully too.
“The leadership structure and culture within the team is strong, and in some ways you’re given the gift of Covid – you either break up or you strengthen.”
Foster firmly believes his side has done the latter. His bosses certainly agree.
FACT FILE
Ian Foster
Age: 56
Lives: Hamilton.
Playing career: Waikato 1985-98 (148 games); Chiefs 1996-98 (28 games).
Coaching experience: Waikato 2002-03; Chiefs 2004-11; All Blacks assistant 2012-19; All Blacks head coach 2020-21.
Record as All Blacks head coach
2020: drew with Australia 16-16, Wellington; d Australia 27-7, Auckland; d Australia 43-5, Sydney; lost to Australia 22-24, Brisbane; lost to Argentina 15-25, Sydney; d Argentina 38-0, Newcastle.
2021: d Tonga 102-0, Auckland ; d Fiji 53-23, Dunedin; d Fiji 60-13, Hamilton; d Australia 33-25, Auckland; d Australia 57-22, Auckland.
