Part one of the All Blacks coaching changes – John Plumtree out, Jason Ryan in – is straight forward enough. Brad Mooar's exit as attack coach, and the absence of a third selector, requires further exploration.
At a time of peak scrutiny the All Blacks will this week travel toSouth Africa one coach lighter than they had for their home series defeat to Ireland.
While Ryan has started as a direct replacement for forwards coach Plumtree, Mooar's attacking brief will not be filled by a new appointment. Not yet, anyway.
Rumours were rife that Blues coach Leon MacDonald was approached to replace Mooar but, at this point, Ryan is the only addition to the revamped All Blacks coaching group.
In his time of need, after presiding over four losses from the past five All Blacks tests, head coach Ian Foster has assumed more responsibility than ever.
While Joe Schmidt, in his new role with the All Blacks as selector and strategist, will inject his nous by attempting to improve the back attack, he will not travel to South Africa.
That leaves Foster to run the attack from the ground for at least the next two weeks, effectively turning back the clock to the role he held as assistant coach under Steve Hansen from 2012-2019.
Only now as head coach, attack mentor and chief selector, Foster could be at risk of taking on too much as he tries to lead the All Blacks from the mire of their form slump.
Foster, in a brief media appearance after the All Blacks trained in Wellington on Tuesday, confirmed no decision had been made about who would replace Plumtree as one of three selectors. He said the other assistant coaches – Ryan, Greg Feek and Scott McLeod – would contribute, leaving Foster and Schmidt to make the final calls. And Foster will be the only selector in South Africa.
Axing Plumtree and Mooar, both of whom were contracted through to the 2023 World Cup, reflects the sustained pressure Foster and the All Blacks remain under.
Has Ian Foster taken on too much responsibility? Photo / Photosport
Asked to describe his conversations with Plumtree and Mooar, Foster said: "Horrible. There's no other word for that. They're good men but my role is to do what I think is best for the team and put the team first. Sometimes that's at the detriment of an individual. I don't think it's a massive judgement on them as coaches at all, it's just where we needed to make a change."
Prior to the Irish series the Herald understands New Zealand Rugby and Foster agreed to a review after the first five tests of this year which further underlines the importance of the two away assignments against the world champion Springboks.
Foster was asked in Wellington whether his position would be untenable if results don't come in the Rugby Championship.
"That's not something I think about," Foster said. "I think about doing the best I can in my role. My job is to get the team ready to go to South Africa."
Foster stood by his decision, which was signed off by the NZ Rugby board, to reappoint Plumtree and Mooar after successive defeats to end last year's northern tour and said he had received direction from his bosses about expectations for the South African tour.
"I don't need them to tell me what we want to do. We want to play well. With all the emotion around when you lose a series it's easy for people to scratch and poke holes and I accept all that, but it doesn't change our job. We're in a challenge like I've never had before.
"We're very determined to do well in the next couple of games. We're not panicking. I'm not sure about the rest of people."
In Mooar's absence, Crusaders playmaker Richie Mo'unga backed Foster to ignite the All Blacks attack that feasted on Irish errors in the first test victory at Eden Park but increasingly relied on individual brilliance in the successive defeats that followed in Dunedin and Wellington.
"Fozzie is the man for the job," Mo'unga said. "I 100 per cent back him because of his coaching ability and he'll now have a more hands on role with attack and the backs.
"I had a taste for that early on in my All Blacks career. I was able to gain so much knowledge and have moments out on field when he was coaching. It's good to see that happen the last couple of days. The direction the team is going is really exciting."
