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 offsider Jason Ryan.
Foster addresses the sackings of John Plumtree and Brad Mooar, and his own position with the All Blacks.
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.
However, 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.
LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
All Blacks coach Ian Foster and NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson in happier times at Foster’s appointment for the top job.
Translation: Foster is the man to battle the Boks. After that, nothing is guaranteed.
Robinson was asked what defeat in South Africa could mean for Foster, but refused to indulge in speculation around hypotheticals. But he did look to clarify reports around “reviews” reportedly taking place at various junctures of the season.
“One thing that seems to be coming through in some media is constant referral to reviews … that’s simply not the case,” said the chief executive who is in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games, and rugby meetings in the north. “But something that is very regular in all our environments is there are constant conversations about how we improve, and that’s a big part of the All Blacks as well.”
The Kiwi boss was also asked about Sir Steve Hansen’s incendiary attack on the decision-makers at New Zealand Rugby, including an assertion that the relationship between players and the executive was at an all-time low. Again, Robinson chose his words carefully, noting the former All Blacks coach was “looking out for his mate”.
”Steve’s a good friend, and he’s passionate about the game in New Zealand. I’ve reached out to him, and we’ll have a catchup at some stage … He’s said things I wouldn’t agree with, but we’ll have that conversation.
“I know he’s incredibly protective of Ian and he’s looking out for his mate, and I think we all understand that too,” added Robinson. “Certainly we’ll have a chat when the time is right.
Today FM
Ex-All Blacks coach Steve Hansen comes out firing in an interview with Today FM’s Tova O’Brien.
“Regarding the players, we’re working hard and well in that space around things in general, but also with regard to a new partner coming on with Silver Lake.”
Asked if the relationship with the players was “functional”, Robinson replied: “There’s no question it went through some challenging times working through [Silver Lake]. We’re well through that. … I know we’ve been through a rocky recent history, but we’re focused on making sure we can be as strong as possible together.”
Robinson was also asked about the risk of losing master Crusaders coach Scott Robertson – overlooked for the All Blacks job – to offshore opportunities, as he’s hinted he could potentially take up.
Again his footwork was nifty as he refused to indulge in speculation. “I understand the sentiment of our fans. That’s been coming through loud and clear. We know Razor has a huge amount to offer the game in New Zealand … but to comment any further wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Robinson admitted calls for him to resign were part of the territory in “key public leadership roles in New Zealand”, said he was confident of finding common territory with Australia around Super Rugby and maintained talent development was on firm footing, despite Hansen’s assertions otherwise.
He did concede his organisation could have handled the fallout from the series defeat to Ireland better, including the canned media appearance from Foster on Sunday in Wellington.
“Clearly the issues off that last performance around communications weren’t good enough,” he said. “We’ve had conversations about those internally. It’s not the kind of organisation we want to be in terms of the way we front for our public. We’ve got to do better there.
“We’ve signalled we think we should front around these things. I know Ian came out very strongly at the end of the week acknowledging we want to front at times like this.”
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