By Liam Napier in Paris
To understand Ian Foster’s deep connection with the All Blacks that’s been forged over 12 years within the coaching team alongside his fractured relationship with the New Zealand rugby public and, indeed, his employers, we must start at the beginning of his elevation to the coveted throne.
Passionate, caring, loyal and stubborn, Foster leaves a complicated legacy as he heads home to free agent status.
Unpacking Foster’s four-year tenure and a World Cup cycle like no other is a complex, nuanced exercise.
A term that concludes by exceeding all expectations in France yet falls agonisingly short of the ultimate redemption can be split into two distinct periods – before and after last year’s home series defeat to Ireland.
Foster was never welcomed, never loved, from the outset of his All Blacks tenure.
“Everyone in the country has a different filter of how they view you,” an emotional Foster said as he reflected on a personally taxing ride in his final press conference as All Blacks head coach one day after the World Cup final defeat to the Springboks. “They’ve got a filter where they didn’t want you in the first place so they filter everything you do based on that. And that’s okay.”
The All Blacks head coaching role comes with unparalleled demands and pressure but for Foster, there was no honeymoon.
There are multiple layers to that backdrop of discontent.
Promoted from his eight years as assistant to Steve Hansen, Foster was cast as a vote for conservative continuity.
The mood for change, following the 2019 World Cup semifinal defeat in Japan, was firmly behind Crusaders, and now All Blacks elect coach, Scott Robertson.
Foster was the other man.
As a head coach, Foster carried the stigma of his eight years at the Chiefs that featured one Super Rugby final and a 50 per cent win record through 106 games.
And while the 2019 World Cup defeat evoked frustrations, Foster assumed the reins after a largely golden generation in which the All Blacks won 93 of their 108 tests for an 86 per cent win ratio – a period that included the 2015 World Cup success.
For anyone, that’s a tough act to follow.
Covid imposed challenges – everything from isolation to constant disruption.
Foster’s first year at the helm contained just six tests – three wins, one draw in his opening assignment against Dave Rennie’s Wallabies in Wellington and, in a sign of lows to come, the All Blacks’ maiden loss to the Pumas.
Those results fuelled the pro-Robertson brigade.
On paper at least the 2021 campaign offered positivity until the end of the year. Foster’s All Blacks won 12 of their 15 tests – the highlight of their centenary victory against the Springboks in Townsville. Five of those wins, though, were against Tonga, Fiji, the USA and Italy.
After a draining tour which, due to Covid complications, forced the team to spend three months on the road, away from families, largely confined to hotels, the All Blacks suffered successive defeats in the Northern Hemisphere to Ireland and France, two leading European nations, for the first time in 27 years to spark major fears.
Those fears were revealed in full as the All Blacks, between November 2021 and August 2022, collapsed to six losses from eight tests. Widespread criticism and concerns at that point were fully justified.
Last year’s home series defeat to Ireland proved the definitive catalyst for change, with assistant coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar axed. Those changes should have arrived well before then, though, after player-led reviews detailed coaching inadequacies at the end of 2021.
Loyal to a fault, Foster hoped to improve Plumtree and Mooar’s capabilities.
In fairness, at the start of his tenure, Foster is believed to have sounded out Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown to join his coaching team – only for the pair to politely decline.
In the end, he needed two-and-a-half years to discover his remoulded coaching crew.
From a playing perspective, Foster’s stubbornness was evident in several selection debates such as delaying Jordie Barrett’s transformational shift from fullback to the midfield – and Finlay Christie’s retention as reserve halfback.
In the most seismic shift of Foster’s tenure, Jason Ryan’s elevation as forwards coach dramatically altered the complexion of the All Blacks pack to improve their maul defence and the set piece almost overnight.
When the All Blacks summoned their backs-to-the-wall triumph at Ellis Park, senior players voiced their vocal support and Joe Schmidt agreed to accept a fulltime hands-on assistant position, Foster was effectively granted a second chance - albeit with the rug to be eventually pulled before the World Cup finish line.
While the All Blacks traversed another wild ride to finish last year with eight wins, four losses, including the first home defeat to the Pumas, and a deflating draw against Eddie Jones’ spiralling England team at Twickenham, the signs of genuine improvement were evident following Ryan and Schmidt’s integrations.
World Cup year began with New Zealand Rugby determining it would appoint a new head coach prior to the pinnacle event for the first time in history. Foster repeatedly criticised his employer for that decision, saying it undermined his team’s World Cup preparations.
“I disagreed with how this year went. I said that publicly. I disagreed with some decisions New Zealand Rugby made on the basis of what I felt was the best thing for this team. It wasn’t based on my desire to coach beyond this World Cup,” Foster said. “And I stand by th