Mark Robinson has been relatively silent since the series loss to Ireland.
New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson has notably refused to endorse the future of All Blacks coach Ian Foster beyond the looming two tests against the world champion Springboks in South Africa.
With the All Blacks mired in a slump after dropping four of their last five tests, and losing their first home series in 28 years, Foster’s future in the top job has been a subject of heavy speculation.
Following the 2-1 July series defeat to Ireland many critics called for a change at the top of the All Blacks setup, but New Zealand Rugby’s response was to sack two Foster appointees in assistants John Plumtree and Brad Mooar, and bring in Scott Robertson’s key Crusaders assistant Jason Ryan.
Many also noted that NZ Rugby chief executive Robinson had been “invisible” through the shakeup following the Irish defeat and subsequent fallout, including a cancelled media appearance from Foster on the Sunday after losing the Wellington decider.
But Robinson did make his first public utterances on Saturday, fronting for an interview from Birmingham on Newstalk ZB where he addressed the key issues surrounding him at present. Or at least manoeuvred around making any significant comment on many of them.
But when asked at the start of the interview if he maintained Foster was the right person to coach the All Blacks through to the World Cup, Robinson’s response was telling.
“He’s certainly the person to lead the team to South Africa, and we’re making sure they’ve got everything possible in the way of resourcing and support to make sure that’s successful,” he said.
Translation: Foster is the man to battle the Boks. After that, nothing is guaranteed.
(More to come)
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