The decision to extend his contract through the World Cup last year, before the All Blacks met South Africa or toured Europe, now seems a bit presumptuous in retrospect. The theory after the defeats to France and Ireland in the fall was that New Zealand lacked physicality, but there are clearly more problems than that now.
Some of the other losses have resulted in key players missing through injury, but despite Scott Barrett’s late withdrawal with an Achilles tendon – a pain, yes, but not enough of an excuse to declare New Zealand’s four of the Lost 16 lineouts – this was close to the supposed strongest All Blacks lineup.
Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock in the lock, Sam Cane and Ardie Savea in the back row, the first choice of David Havili and Rieko Ioane. Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett, the illustrious halfback pair, were in attendance. Incredibly talented players who don’t perform at their best tend to turn a blind eye to the coaching box.
The problem for Foster is that there is a long line of talented coaches queuing up to take his place. Joe Schmidt was close to set-up throughout this series, while Warren Gatland’s return to New Zealand always seemed to have been made with the prospect of coaching the All Blacks.
But the obvious contender, despite his lack of testing experience, is Scott Robertson. The Crusaders head coach looks set to win every competition his side play in, with six titles to date, and the decision to choose Foster over Robertson two years ago was controversial. If the job doesn’t come Robertson’s way soon, then countries and clubs around the world will be lining up to appoint him.
You can see why Foster is now looking over his shoulder ahead of two tough tests in South Africa. Considering this is New Zealand’s worst form in nearly 25 years and the quality coaches waiting in the wings, it’s hard to see how he can continue.