Change is coming for the All Blacks, but will an early coaching appointment destabilise the side’s September Rugby World Cup campaign?
SENZ’s Israel Dagg and Tony Kemp have voiced their concerns around New Zealand Rugby’s decision to name Ian Foster’s successor in the first half of the year, with the former – an ex-All Black – worried that a total cleanout will damage the legacy of the national side.
“Change is coming. Many of you have been demanding change in that All Blacks team for a while now, for a very, very long time, wanting it and well, change is about to come,” Dagg said.
“Post the World Cup, the All Blacks will announce a new All Blacks regime and they will have a total cleanout.
“All signs are leading to a total cleanout and you can’t look (much) further than the Chiefs in 2011 when they had a total cleanout, they came last or near last that year but then went on to have some very successful years with Dave Rennie.
“The All Blacks, I feel, can’t afford that. The sponsorship, the legacy of the mana the All Blacks hold, but hey, change is change.”
Foster came under heavy scrutiny in 2022 for mediocre performances early in the international season but survived an internal review by NZR, going on to win the Freedom Cup, Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship.
While Foster is locked in until the end of the upcoming tournament, NZR is set to make several changes to the current regime, with the next head coach set to be named in the coming months.
Champion Crusaders coach Scott Robertson is the favourite to take over the role but will have to fend off competition from fellow Kiwi and current Japan coach Jamie Joseph.
While a new coach is certain to be named, Kemp has questioned how deep the cleanout needs to go if NZR is looking for a new outlook for 2024 and beyond.
“A point which really needs to (be discussed) is how deep do you go?” Kemp queried.
“You’re talking about bringing in Jamie Joseph or Razor as the next change, it’s actually about, well what else follows and how deep do you go?
“Analysing success, yes we’ve had success haven’t we, we’ve won World Cups but we’ve sort of struggled over the last few years, I think.
“We’ve gone down the rankings, we’ve struggled against the Europeans, we’re battling internally to keep our players … there is big change coming, the question is how big a change?”
Two of Foster’s current assistants Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan were only inducted into the All Blacks in 2022 and while they have made huge inroads, it remains to be seen whether the new coach will look to start afresh or carry on with Foster’s associates.
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