All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has today announced he won't re-apply for the job when his tenure ends after the Rugby World Cup later this year.
In the latest twist in a long-running drama, Foster made the announcement in a statement this afternoon.
"As I said last week, I felt the best thing for our team and for our entire management group was to have this process done after the Rugby World Cup,” Foster said.
"That hasn't happened but we will accept the decision and move on.
"My sole focus remains unchanged. It is to lead this All Blacks team and management group in our planning and preparation so that we go to France with the goal of winning the Rugby World Cup and making this country proud.
"I won't be re-applying for the job of head coach."
Ian Foster has announced he won't re-apply for the job when his tenure ends. (Source: 1News)
Foster’s statement came as a response to this morning’s announcement from New Zealand Rugby chair Dame Patsy Reddy that the head coach for 2024 onwards will be named in four to six weeks.
Reddy’s address to the media at NZ Rugby’s Wellington headquarters in the absence of chief executive Mark Robinson, who is attending World Rugby meetings in the Northern Hemisphere, was effectively a briefing of what was decided – unanimously, she said – at last week’s board meeting.
Foster’s response is not surprising. After a media blitz last week during which he spoke of the potential distractions connected with appointing a new coach before the World Cup, it was assumed he would not apply for the role.
But it reflects his depth of feeling about the decision and a chain of events set in motion before Christmas when Robinson said his organisation would break with tradition and decide on the head coach before September’s global tournament.
And it also hints further at a big divide between himself and NZ Rugby, particularly with the organisation’s boss Robinson.
Reddy this morning would not give any further details about the selection process other than it would be “robust”.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson is one candidate, and it’s widely assumed that Japan coach and fellow former All Black Jamie Joseph is another.
Reddy said she hoped an early decision would give NZ Rugby “clarity”.
Foster’s quick reply via a tersely-worded statement suggests one of the big unknowns is the extent of the divide between Foster, and by extension his management group, and NZ Rugby, and how much damage it could do to the All Blacks’ chances of winning the World Cup.
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