Ian Foster provides clue on his coaching future

Ian Foster has taken a swipe at his former employer New Zealand Rugby (NZR) just a few days after stepping down from his position as the All Blacks’ head coach.

The 58-year-old did not hide his disappointment at the NZR’s decision to replace him with Scott Robertson – a call which was announced in March.

Prior to that, Foster wanted the NZR to wait until after the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Robertson officially took over the All Blacks coaching reins on Wednesday, but his first game won’t be until next July.

“I wouldn’t say there was a lack of trust, I just think when you think you’ve got a plan B in your pocket, sometimes you don’t back plan A probably as much as you could,” Foster told Newstalk ZB.

Foster was under immense pressure to hold onto his job after the All Blacks lost six out of eight Tests between November 2021 and August 2022. He did not reapply for the All Blacks coaching position after NZR opted to fill the role before the global showpiece in France.

He was asked if he would have done so before Robertson came into the picture but initially declined to answer the question.

However, the former All Black boss did say: “utter confidence from your board, CEOs, all that sort of stuff,” was hugely important.

“That would have been the first thing I sought to clarify before I put my name in the hat again,” added Foster.

He then made his comment about “plan B” which was in reference to Robertson, who has been appointed on a four-year contract through until the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Foster is keen to continue his coaching career and said he is open to taking charge of an overseas-based team. He also revealed that he did not get involved in negotiations for potential jobs after receiving offers prior to the Rugby World Cup.

Turned down some job offers

“I had a couple of options before the World Cup that I basically said, ‘if you want to talk to me, you have to wait till after the World Cup’,” Foster said.

“Because I don’t want this team or, in fact, this country, thinking that I was busy trying to sort myself out before the biggest event.”

Foster added that the timing was not perfect as most of the previously vacant coaching jobs were now filled.

After his four-year stint in charge of the All Blacks, Foster is keen to coach at club level in Europe or Japan and would not rule out coaching at international level again.

“But it’s immensely difficult to talk about trying to coach another country when you’ve just had 12 years with the best team in the world, and is so close to my heart and, quite frankly, I just need to breathe a little bit before I go down that path,” he said.