Ian Foster’s future will be decided in the coming days after the All Blacks’ tour to South Africa is debriefed.
Foster remains in limbo after the pressure-relieving win against South Africa, with NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson refusing to confirm he will retain the All Blacks job.
Robinson confirmed to media on Sunday that he will meet with team management when everyone gets home.
SKY SPORTS
A big final 10 minutes sees the All Blacks topple their hosts at Ellis Park.
No further comment will be made till after then. It is expected the result of the tour debrief will be known later this week.
“We believe we know where we stand and just got to work through it,” Robinson said.
“We will take stock, meet with management as soon as we can reasonably when we get home and debrief how the tour went and where we see things at the moment.”
Robinson said the appointment of the coach is ultimately the responsibility of the New Zealand Rugby board.
ELLA BATES-HERMANS/Stuff
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said the board will ultimately decide Ian Foster’s fate.
“The most we can really say is we are focused on getting everyone home, and we’ll have a number of conversations in the coming days.”
Robinson said Foster and his team had the support of NZ Rugby. But he could not say if he would remain the coach when the All Blacks run out to play Argentina in Christchurch on August 27.
“We just need to work through this little period to understand where the next steps are with this management team.
“We’ve been having conversations [with Foster] right through this time, so we believe we know where we are and where we stand. We’ve just got to work through that with him.”
On speculation Scott Robertson was on standby to takeover as All Blacks coach, Robinson said: “We will certainly not be commenting on anything regarding individuals in and around this.”
He emphasized the entire management team will be looked at, not just Foster’s position.
I have acknowledged this had been a tough time for Foster, in particular.
“These have been really challenging times right the way through the last few weeks, there’s no question around that.
“There’s a huge amount of passion and speculation, a huge amount of expectation around the team and the organisation, so we appreciate that.
“But as we’ve said, we need to take the time to make sure that we’ve got this team set up to do everything that it needs to be successful.”
Robinson said NZR was “absolutely delighted” for the team and management after their win on Sunday.
“It was an incredible performance and result, in an incredibly hostile stadium at Ellis Park, and the home of South African rugby.
“So we’re delighted that after the last few weeks of adversity and really challenging times that the team could come through that.
“We’re very proud of them, they represent everything that we know the All Blacks stand for, and it was a really critical moment in the development of this team which I’m real proud of.”