Ian Foster (rugby union)

Ian Foster

Ian Foster (R) with Richie McCaw during the 2015 Rugby World Cup victory parade.
Date of birth	(1965-05-01) 1 May 1965 (age 57)
Place of birth	Putāruru, New Zealand
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	92 kg (203 lb)
School	Taieri High School Forest View High School
Spouse	Leigh Foster [1]
Occupation(s)	Rugby union coach
Rugby union career
Position(s) First five-eight Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Te Awamutu Sports () Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1985–1998 Waikato 148 322 Super Rugby Years Team Apps (Points) 1996–1998 Chiefs 28 167 Teams coached Years Team 2002–2003 2004–2011 2005–2007 2012–2019 2019– Waikato Chiefs Junior All Blacks (Co-Coach) New Zealand (Assistant Coach) New Zealand

Ian Foster is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks.

He was previously an assistant coach of the All Blacks from 2012 to 2015, a period in which the team won the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Playing career

During Foster's playing career he made 148 appearances for Waikato, a union record. He also played 28 games for the Chiefs. ^{[2] [3]}

Foster also played for the NZRFU President’s XV in 1995.

Coaching career

Waikato

Foster was the Head Coach of Waikato for 2002 and 2003. In 2002, Waikato finished first after the round robin stage with eight wins from nine games, but ultimately lost the final to Auckland 28-40. ^[4]

In the 2003 season Waikato were second behind Otago after the round robin standings with six wins from nine games. They then lost their home semi-final 29-30 to Wellington. ^[5]

Overall, Foster's coaching record with Waikato was 15 wins from 21 games.

Chiefs

In 2004, Foster took over as head coach of the Waikato-based Super Rugby team the Chiefs, with the following results:

• In the 2004 Super 12 season, 7 wins from 11 games with 274 points for and 251 against. Placed 4th on the table. The Chiefs lost their semifinal 17-32 to the Brumbies, the eventual champions, at Canberra Stadium.
• 2005, 5 wins and a draw from 11 games with 272 points for and 250 against. Placed 6th.
• 2006, 7 wins and a draw from 13 games with 325 points for and 298 against. Placed 7th.
• 2007, 7 wins and a draw from 13 games with 373 points for and 321 against. Placed 7th.
• 2008, 7 wins from 13 games with 348 points for and 349 against. Placed 7th.
• 2009, 9 wins from 13 games with 338 points for and 236 against. Placed 2nd. The Chiefs beat the Hurricanes 14-10 in a home semi-final and then lost 17-61 to the Bulls in the final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria.
• 2010, 4 wins and a draw from 13 games with 340 points for and 418 against. Placed 10th.
• 2011, 6 wins and a draw from 18 games with 332 points for and 348 against. Placed 5th in the New Zealand conference and 10th overall.

Under Foster's coaching, the Chiefs made the Super Rugby finals in 2004 and the final in 2009 and had a 50% win ratio. ^[6]

All Blacks

In 2011, Foster became an assistant coach and selector for the All Blacks under newly-appointed head coach Steve Hansen, ^[7] a position which he held until after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. During his time as assistant coach, the All Blacks won 93 of 108 tests (losing in just ten), ^[8] and won the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

In December 2019, Foster was named the new head coach of the All Blacks, replacing Hansen, ^[9] alongside assistants John Plumtree, Greg Feek, and Scott McLeod. ^[10] He also announced Sam Cane as the new All Blacks captain. ^[11]

In November 2020, Argentina beat the All Blacks for the first time. ^[12]

In 2022, Foster came under increasing pressure after the All Blacks were defeated in a test series for the first time by Ireland, as well as a loss to South Africa. ^[13] Prior to leaving for South Africa for the Mbombela test, Foster's assistants Plumtree and Brad Mooar were sacked and replaced by Jason Ryan, with Foster taking on the backs coaching role and former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt joining as an advisor. ^[14] After a review, and support from many of the All Blacks squad, ^[15] New Zealand Rugby opted to back Foster until the 2023 World Cup. ^[16] Two weeks later, the All Blacks lost to Argentina in Christchurch, the first time Argentina had defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand. ^[17]

Coaching statistics

New Zealand

International matches as head coach

Note: World Rankings Column shows the World Ranking New Zealand was placed at on the following Monday after each of their matches

Matches (2020 – present)
Match	Date	Opposition	Venue	Score (NZ–Opponent)	Competition	Captain	World Ranking
2020
1	11 October	Australia	Sky Stadium, Wellington	16–16	2020 end-of-year rugby union internationals	Sam Cane	2nd
2	18 October		Eden Park, Auckland	27–7			2nd
3	31 October		ANZ Stadium, Sydney	43–5	2020 Tri Nations Series		2nd
4	7 November		Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	22–24			2nd
5	14 November	Argentina	Bankwest Stadium, Sydney	15–25			3rd
6	28 November		McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle	38–0			3rd
2021
7	3 July	Tonga	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	102-0	2021 July rugby union tests	Sam Whitelock	2nd
8	10 July	Fiji	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	57-23		Aaron Smith	2nd
9	17 July		Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	60-13		Sam Whitelock	2nd
10	7 August	Australia	Eden Park, Auckland	33-25			2nd
11	14 August		Eden Park, Auckland	57-22	2021 Rugby Championship		2nd
12	5 September		Optus Stadium, Perth	38-21		Ardie Savea	2nd
13	12 September	Argentina	Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast	39-0		Brodie Retallick	2nd
14	18 September		Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	36-13		Ardie Savea	2nd
15	25 September	South Africa	Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville	19-17			1st
16	2 October		Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast	29-31			2nd
17	23 October	United States	FedExField, Washington	104-14	2021 end-of-year rugby union internationals	Sam Whitelock	2nd
18	30 October	Wales	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	54-16			1st
19	6 November	Italy	Stadio Olimpico, Rome	47-9		Sam Cane	1st
20	13 November	Ireland	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	20-29		Sam Whitelock	2nd
21	20 November	France	Stade de France, Paris	25-40			2nd
2022
22	2 July	Ireland	Eden Park, Auckland	42-19	2022 July rugby union tests	Sam Cane	2nd
23	9 July		Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	12-23			4th
24	16 July		Sky Stadium, Wellington	22-32			4th
25	6 August	South Africa	Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit	10-26	2022 Rugby Championship		5th
26	13 August		Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg	35-23			4th
27	27 August	Argentina	Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch	25-18			4th
28	3 September	Argentina	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	53-3			4th
29	15 September	Australia	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne	39-37			4th
30	24 September	Australia	Eden Park, Auckland	40-14		Sam Whitelock	4th
31	29 October	Japan	National Stadium, Tokyo	38-31	2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals	Sam Cane	4th
32	5 November	Wales	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	55-23		Sam Whitelock	3rd
33	14 November	Scotland	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh	31-23		Sam Whitelock	3rd
34	20 November	England	Twickenham Stadium, London	25-25		Sam Whitelock	TBC

Record by country

Opponent	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Win %	Pts For	Against
Argentina	6	4	0	2	066.67	181	66
Australia	9	7	1	1	077.78	315	171
England	1	0	1	0	000.00	25	25
Fiji	2	2	0	0	100.00	117	36
Ireland	4	1	0	3	025.00	96	103
Italy	1	1	0	0	100.00	47	9
Japan	1	1	0	0	100.00	38	31
South Africa	4	2	0	2	050.00	93	97
Tonga	1	1	0	0	100.00	102	0
United States	1	1	0	0	100.00	104	14
Wales	2	2	0	0	100.00	109	39
France	1	0	0	1	000.00	25	40
Scotland	1	1	0	0	100.00	31	23
TOTAL	34	23	2	9	067.65	1283	654

Honours

• Bledisloe Cup
  • Winners: 2020, 2021, 2022
• Freedom Cup
  • Winners: 2021, 2022
• The Rugby Championship
  • Winners: 2020, 2021, 2022

References

1. "Rugby: Ian Foster reveals wife's hilarious reaction to All Blacks coach announcement". New Zealand Herald. 12 December 2019.
2. Ian Foster named All Blacks assistant coach Stuff.co.nz, 23 December 2011
3. Foster new All Black assistant coach NZ Herald, 23 December 2011
4. "2002 NPC".
5. "2003 NPC".
6. RugbyPass 12 December 2019
7. RNZ News 16 April 2011
8. "Rugby: 10 things to know about new All Blacks coach Ian Foster". NZ Herald. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
9. "Ian Foster named Steve Hansen's successor as All Blacks head coach". Guardian. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
10. "FOSTER CONFIRMS BULK OF COACHING TEAM". allblacks.com. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
11. "SAM CANE NAMED ALL BLACKS CAPTAIN". allblacks.com. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
12. "Argentina beat All Blacks for first time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
13. "'I'm ashamed': Former All Black speaks out on 'disturbing' Foster comments".
14. Napier, Liam (24 July 2022). "'I'm feeling for two fine men': All Blacks axe Brad Mooar, John Plumtree, add Jason Ryan". NZ Herald. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
15. Powell, Alex (16 August 2022). "Rugby: All Blacks coach Ian Foster finds support, empathy from Black Ferns counterpart Wayne Smith". Newshub. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
16. "Ian Foster retained as All Blacks coach". ESPN Scrum. ESPN. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
17. "Argentina stun New Zealand with historic Rugby Championship victory". The Guardian. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.

External links

• Ian Foster at the International Rugby Academy

Sporting positions
Preceded by Steve Hansen	All Blacks coach 2019–present	Incumbent