How Foster kept his job

The All Blacks’ brilliant win in South Africa last weekend, player power and the addition of coaching mastermind Joe Schmidt have emerged as the key factors in Ian Foster’s remarkable rise from the canvas to keep his All Blacks job.

Wind back a fortnight and Foster looked like he was out for the count, rugby’s equivalent to Tyson Fury when the British heavyweight was seemingly knocked out cold by Deontay Wilder in their first fight in 2018.

However, just as Fury somehow got up and beat the count against Wilder, Foster rose from the floor, engineered a superb All Blacks win, and was then buoyed by the unusual sight of senior All Blacks Sam Cane and Sam Whitelock joining a media debrief in Johannesburg to effectively dare NZ Rugby to sack the coach.

With those circumstances as the backdrop to yesterday’s announcement that Foster would carry on, it was not surprising to hear NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson offer his unequivocal backing, just a few weeks after he was wary of even endorsing Foster beyond the South Africa tour.

‘‘The performance [at Ellis Park] was an outstanding reflection of all the work that had gone on in a very quick time,’’ Robinson said.

‘‘You’re talking 14-18 days with a new coaching group that we have real confidence in.

‘‘They [the senior players] are certainly a critical partner in this and I had the opportunity to spend time with them in South Africa.

‘‘They were great. Like the conversations I had with Ian other people in the environment they were robust honest, caring about what the team means to them and what they’re committed to doing.’’

Put simply, NZ Rugby – who Stuff understands had lined up Crusaders coach Scott Robertson as their Plan B – may have held one view about Foster before the Johannesburg test, but were forced to reassemble their thoughts after the All Blacks produced a performance that changed everything.

Yet, the addition of Schmidt also can’t be overlooked as it shows that Foster has acknowledged that the win against the Springboks won’t count for much unless further improvements are made.

Schmidt, who has reputation for suffering few fools, will add intelligence and edge to the camp.

‘‘It’s always been in the plan in some form, but the exact time I didn’t really know,’’ Foster said. ‘‘’I’ve been talking to Joe for about three years but he had very strong reasons to have a bit of a break and to not get back in the limelight.

‘‘So I’ve kind of dragged him back in. I’d like to thank Kelly, his wife, particularly.’’

Schmidt did not travel to South Africa, but his new elevated role signals that he will travel with the group in future trips.

Foster also made mention of his senior player group, who have been forced to look hard at themselves but have welcomed behindthe-scenes support and advice from former All Blacks who have been through similarly challenging periods.

No one, however, has emerged stronger from the recent turmoil than Foster himself. Stuff understands there were tears in the changing room in Johannesburg, from both Foster and new forwards supremo Jason Ryan. Such shows of emotion count a lot to players.

Yesterday’s press conference was also Foster’s most authoritative since he took the job – he projected utter confidence in his methods and position in a way arguably not seen since Steve Hansen’s time in charge.

Talk about a comeback.