Ian Foster will not reapply for All Blacks head coach role

by The TRU Team Thursday 2 March 2023

Ian Foster is not happy with New Zealand Rugby's move to look for his successor during World Cup preparations

©PA

New Zealand head coach Ian Foster slammed the board's decision to look for his successor in the middle of Rugby World Cup preparations.

Foster took over as the All Blacks coach post 2019 Rugby World Cup succeeding Steve Hansen after previously being the assistant coach between 2012 and 2019.

He has been under constant criticism last year after having lost the home series against Ireland for the first time while also losing to Argentina for the first time during the Rugby Championship.

Nevertheless, Foster's men managed to win the Rugby Championship title with a slender margin over South Africa while also retaining the Bledisloe Cup for the 20th consecutive year before securing three wins a draw in the end of the year series.

With New Zealand Rugby stating that they will announce the All Blacks head coach for 2024 within weeks, Foster said this would be an unnecessary distraction for the side with the World Cup scheduled later this year.

"I won't be reapplying for the job of head coach," said Foster.

"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.

"That hasn't happened but we will accept the decision and move on."