Aaron Smith of New Zealand and All Black coach Ian Foster during the South Africa Springboks v New Zealand All Blacks rugby union test match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Aaron Smith of New Zealand and All Black coach Ian Foster during the South Africa Springboks v New Zealand All Blacks rugby union test match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Ian Foster has survived the debrief. Not a review, NZR hastened to add, a debrief that had been planned, executed and ultimately applied. Fozzie has the unanimous support of the board.
The frenzy around Ian's future in arguably the highest profile role a New Zealander can take on asidethe office of Prime Minister, was exciting, malicious, confused but warranted.
We expect more of the coach than our elected officials.
The All Blacks don't get handed their derrieres on a platter by tourists without a collective witch hunt to determine who needs to be saddled with the blame.
It was an exercise in pressure for all concerned. The players who coughed up the results on the park, the coaching staff who masterminded the collapse and NZR who oversaw the unthinkable if not inevitable. Someone had to pay the price for the All Blacks freefall down the world rugby rankings.
During this fraught period the players melted first. The showing at Mbombela was a team falling apart at the seams. After the home series implosion versus the Irish, their self-confidence, long a hallmark of All Black resilience was a distant memory. Their Lowveld nadir screamed change. The peasants waved their pitchforks.
The coaching staff were exposed by the on-field performance. They lead the horse to water, who invariably drowned. As good as the players should be, without firm guidance they stampeded in all directions. The burning hay bales were being launched.
All Blacks head coach Ian Foster and NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
The NZR showed their tender underbelly with a poorly orchestrated response that undermined any play they had. They alienated their fans, through their primary conduit, the media. Their position was clumsily promoted and poorly executed. A cohesive plan that embraced their regular and for the most part supportive mouthpiece was lacking. The message became jumbled, irregular and divisive. The gates were being stormed.
Despite the tumult however, Foster and his men somehow rose above.
Foster tweaked and adjusted and sacked and rebuilt with what appeared to be little method and through that perceived chaos arrived at the Ellis Park flashpoint.
A game that showed that Foster was able to recalibrate on the move, be it with coach or player selections.
A game that showed he was able to keep his head while all about him were losing theirs.
Under the white-hot pressure of impossibly high expectation, he delivered.
He didn't doubt his resolve but he questioned his methods, his assistance and adjusted as necessary.
He showed that as a coach he is growing, developing and understanding the extraordinarily difficult role he has, beset with numerous moving parts of which some he has little control.
2022 so far has been the making of Ian Foster. Yes, the year has many a twist and turn ahead, but to see him survive what has been brutal examination of his ability, to see him survive adversity, should give us all hope for the future.
