Ian Foster: Newly appointed Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Published Dec 30, 2024, 8:36 PM

Surprised, and humbled. That’s the reaction of former All Blacks coach Ian Foster after being made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Having spent decades working in rugby, including 12 years with the All Blacks, Foster’s contribution to the game has earned him inclusion in the New Year’s Honours list.

But Foster’s contribution to the sport extends far beyond what he did at the highest level.

The 148 matches Foster played for Waikato are still a record for the province and the tally is unlikely to be bettered. Among active players, only Liam Messam, aged 40, gets close at 104 games.

As a coach, Foster’s spells with both Waikato and the Chiefs paved the way for him to step into the All Blacks, where he lifted the World Cup as an assistant to Sir Steve Hansen in 2012.

And speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Summer Breakfast with Tim Beveridge, the 59-year-old is happy to deflect praise towards those who have helped him get to where he is, rather than take personal credit.

“It’s always for other people, isn’t it? It’s never for you,” Foster said. “But upon a little bit of reflection, I’m incredibly grateful for the acknowledgment.

“That’s, I guess, for my involvement in rugby, and something I’ve loved. You don’t do it for any acknowledgment, but it’s been pretty special.

“With every layer, there’s special memories. There’s people that have been a massive influence, and people that have helped you along the pathways.

“Every level has its own highs and lows. It was never a written goal to be coach of the All Blacks.

“It was always about enjoying the moment and enjoying the group of people I was with at the time.

“The thing that’s been most special for me is seeing the support I’ve had over the years from family and friends at those different levels.”

A year on from the All Blacks’ heartbreaking one-point loss to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final, Foster has taken his coaching acumen offshore and been reunited with former mentor Hansen at Toyota Verblitz in Japan.

The move to Japan came after New Zealand Rugby acted to replace Foster before a ball had even been kicked in 2023, as Scott Robertson was backed as the man to lead the All Blacks into the future.

Despite that, though, Foster’s tenure ultimately showed his worth as a coach.

Ian Foster and Sir Steve Hansen in 2019. Photo / Getty Images

Aside from his World Cup campaign as head coach, where the All Blacks ended Ireland’s run before losing to South Africa, Foster defended the Bledisloe Cup every year, and also kept hold of the Freedom Cup against the Springboks.

One year on, that prize has been surrendered to South Africa.

And while public praise may not have flowed during his tenure, Foster never lost the support of his players.

In mid-2022, when Foster faced the sack while the team were away in South Africa, a group of senior players personally pulled NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson aside to outline that the coach needed to keep his job.

After the World Cup final defeat in the bowels of Stade de France, assistant coach Jason Ryan was asked what he thought Foster deserved to be remembered for. His answer was how much Foster cared for the All Blacks.

That care is consistent with Foster’s approach to coaching on the whole, and the credit Foster gives to the players who have been part of his career.

“For me, coaching is about caring for the people you work with. You get the best out of them if you care for them, if you try to understand what they’re going through.

“I love coaching, it’s a great chance to influence people. But to do that, you’ve got to walk a little bit of life in their shoes, and understand the pressures they’re going through.

“Quite frankly, the players, every week we put them out, we expect high standards, so they should expect the same out of us.”

Now, though, Foster’s challenge lies in Japan. His Toyota Verblitz have opened their Rugby League One season with defeats to Kubota Spears and Honda Heat.

Japan has become a destination for Kiwis, coaches and players alike.

Foster is joined at Toyota by Aaron Smith, while former All Blacks charges Sam Cane and TJ Perenara have also just moved to Suntory Sungoliath and Black Rams Tokyo respectively.

But as seen by the large number of quality internationals moving to Japanese clubs, playing there is about so much more than earning a paycheque. Foster is no different.

“It’s a great new challenge, a new culture, a new language, new food, new road to drive to work, new personalities — a new Ian Foster,” he said.

“It’s a great chance to try and teach an old dog new tricks. I want to keep growing as a coach, this is a great chance to do it.

“But what I’ve learned is really, rugby players are rugby players — whether they speak Kiwi, Aussie or Japanese.

“The beautiful thing is there’s some great people over here, and I’m enjoying getting to know them.

“I love what I’m doing.”

Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.

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And as I've said, we started to see the New Year's Honors rolling in this morning and former coach of the All Blacks Ian Foster's name was on the list. He's been a point appointed a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit and Ian Foster is with me now, Ian, hello, wing to Hey, Well, congratulations on the achievement. How do you feel?

Look, I think surprised, I guess humbled. It's always for other people those sort of awards. It's never kind of for you, is it. So it's but I and upon a little bit of reflection, incredibly grateful really for the for the acknowledgment of that's I guess of what I've done for my involvement in rugby and something that I've loved and and you don't do it for any acknowledgement. But it's it's been pretty special.

I mean, you've been through some It's a rollercoaster ride, isn't it being the All Blacks coach? You look over at the All Blacks job? Is it all worth it?

Of course? It is. It's look, it's an amazing team and we were a team that represents an amazing country. Sometimes when you look at the look at the simplicity of the situation and you're you're you're a national coach and you plan it for a represented a team that the country is really passionate about, and long way that continue, and with that comes the ups and downs of of different views and different expectations, and you know it's you just got to You've got to ride through those, but keep you focus on what you're there for, which is to do the best thing for the team.

Watching from a distance, the thing that shone through to me every time players were talking about you is it seemed one massive loyalty. They loved you and you've been very influential in their lives. Do you recognize that?

I don't think at the time, you know, I think when yeah, I think the key for me, at whatever a level I coach, of coaching for me is about is about caring for the people that you're working with. I think you get your best out of them if you if you care for them, if you try to understand what they're going through so you can you can tailor Taylor that you expect their expectations to where they're at as a person. So look, I I love coaching. I think it's a great chance to influence people. But to do that, you've got to walk a lot, little bit of life in their shoes and understand the pressures that they're going through. And quite frankly, the players, every week we put them out, we expect massive, messively high standards and so they should expect that out of us.

There's an analogy of a young pilot looking up at the astronauts thinking they've got it made, and the astronaut looks back at the young pilot and goes, those are the good days you've been at the peak. What's the time that you view with the most affection.

But when it's funny. I went into a reflective mode when when I found out about this acknowledgment, and I really was drawn back to the different levels that I've been at in rugby, because I don't think this is like, it's not just about the All Blacks. It's about my school days at forest View, It's about my club days at Tammody Sports. It's about why Caddo, It's about Chiefs, it's about the Junior All Blacks and every layer there's special memories, There's people that have have been a massive influence and helped me along the pathway. And I do think that, you know, every level has got its own highs and lows. I was never a written goal for me to be the All Blacks. For me, it was always about just enjoying the moment and enjoying the group of people that I was with at that time, and I think that's kind of been the The thing that's been most special for me has seen the support that I've had over the years from family, from friends at those different levels, and they've been what behind me on this journey.

Yeah, I have a sense how you might answer my next question, But what's it like now looking at the All Blacks from a couple of degrees removed? And do you think the team led by Razor doing a good job?

How do you think I'll answer that.

I guess I had to ask it because of course you're not going to come into none other coaches you would expect, you know, in that position. But I guess how's it looking from outside? But also I mean tell us how life in Japan is as well?

Yeah, look, it's tough from the outside, you know. It's when you're like it's been twelve years with the Orles. When we finished in twenty three, obviously we walked off the field in France and didn't get that, didn't get the job done in the final by a point. But I know a vast majority of those players, Uh, we're ready to go for the next four years. And so I've been watching that group with passion. I've got a lot of desire for them to be successful. Though they'll be hurting a little bit from the year that we're going to make sure that that fuels us going forward. God in Japan. Great new challenge, new culture, new language, new food, new new road to drive to work.

Faster.

Yeah, well new and foster. But it's it's a it's a great chance for to try and teach an old dog a few new tricks. And I want to keep growing as a coach, and so this is a great chance for me to do it. But what I've learned is that really rugby players or rugby players, whether they speak Kiwi, Aussie or or Japanese. And the beautiful thing is there's some great people over here and joining tonight and loving what I'm doing.

Great. Well, Look, I'm sure we're going to love watching your progress over there in the news of your successes, and I know that a lot of your players, all of the players you've work with, will be thrilled about this award. And so all the very best for Christmas. Sorry, not for Christmas, what I'm saying for the New Year twenty twenty five.

Yeah, thanks very much, Tim, I appreciate the supporter and again incredibly grateful for this achievement.

Excellent. I good to talk to you you too, Thanks to appreciate that.

Take care.

Bye bye.

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