STUFF.CO.NZ – Fair call, all things considered. But the reappointment of Ian Foster as All Blacks coach through until the 2023 World Cup does not come without a hefty element of risk.
Not to mention a slightly quizzical raising of the eyebrows.
In fact, you could make the case that Tuesday’s decision to extend Foster’s contract by a further two years is a decided roll of the dice from the decision-makers at HQ, and especially chief executive Mark Robinson who has well and truly nailed his colours to the mast of the Good Ship Fozzie.
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For starters, why it has been made before the looming two tests against the undisputed best side on the planet (the Springboks) is somewhat of a mystery. Wait a month and they would have had the perfect measuring stick by which to assess Foster’s progress since he took over the top job.
Surely a call of this magnitude could have waited just a few more weeks.
Instead, they are all-in on a fellow who could only win half his test matches in 2020, and by his own admission came up short of the mark required in year one.
What was the rush? Did this deal have to be done before the All Blacks hit the road for the rest of their 2021 programme? The sniff test certainly suggests so.
So what’s the risk, you might ask?
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Well, has Foster emphatically proven himself the best man for the job? There has to be an element of doubt about that, at least.
More so when you consider that, in Crusaders serial winner Scott Robertson, NZ Rugby has a compelling Plan B on hand who appears to be desperate to do the job.
Yes, Robertson will keep. Maybe it’s even in his best interests to stay busy elsewhere, continue upskilling himself, carry on tucking away the trophies, and jump in for the next cycle when, hopefully, the world is a lot less complicated place.
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But back to the doubt. Foster has effectively been extended on the strength of having the wood over what appears to be an historically weak Wallabies outfit. He also lost to Argentina for the first time in his team’s history (splitting the two tests against the Pumas in 2020) and has seen off a spirited Fiji outfit this year with hardly what you would term authority.
Undoubtedly Foster deserves recognition that this has not been an easy path to tread as head coach with the wide shadow Covid-19 has cast over all international rugby. The world got spun on its head last year, a compromise competition was thrown up at the last minute and nothing was what you might call straightforward.
Then 2021, after its promising beginnings, turned into somewhat of a carbon copy. We had a schedule, then we didn’t. Now we do again, but it’s not what everyone signed up for.
But it’s been tough for everyone, and you could make the case that the All Blacks have had it comparatively easy compared to some others.
All of which has made the art of assessment a difficult one. The All Blacks, through no fault of their own, haven’t played any of the other top five sides in the world since Foster took charge in the wake of the failed 2019 World Cup campaign, for which he was an assistant coach.
Maybe Robinson and his cohorts have seen something in 2021 that’s convinced them. The All Blacks are 5-0, after all, and have tucked the Bledisloe Cup away for a 19th consecutive year. Their last outing produced their highest ever score in 118 years of trans-Tasman contests.
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Maybe that was enough for the rubber stamp to come out and that contract to be extended. Maybe.
If so, that’s an important call made on the back of defeating what would appear to be one of the poorest Wallabies teams in the professional era. Dave Rennie is trying hard, but you can only work with what you have to work with.
The Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition in 2021 showed demonstrably that Foster has a world more talent at his behest than Rennie does.
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Maybe in this time of uncertainty it is good to have something locked in. Now Foster can set off on this challenging road trip, where the All Blacks will play the Wallabies (once more) and Pumas and Springboks (twice each) to round out the Rugby Championship in Australia with the confidence and assuredness that his bosses have his back. Then head north with equal vigour.
Only time will tell on this one, but it doesn’t lessen the impression that a little more evidence might have added a lot to getting this decision right.
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This article originally appeared on stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission
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