All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has confirmed he has the support of the national playing squad after two of his assistant coaches were axed on Sunday.
In the wake of New Zealand’s historic series loss to Ireland, it was announced over the weekend that All Blacks assistant coaches John Plumtree and Brad Mooar had been cut from the national set-up.
Plumtree’s role as forwards coach has since been taken over by former Crusaders and Fiji assistant Jason Ryan, while Foster will take charge of the team’s attacking duties in the absence of Mooar.
Confirmation of those changes came just days after Foster strongly hinted that adjustments would be made to his backroom staff after he was retained as All Blacks boss, despite intense public pressure for him to be removed from his post.
Speaking on The Breakdown on Sunday, Foster revealed that the decision to sack Plumtree and Mooar came after deliberation with senior figures within the All Blacks playing group.
Foster said those conversations helped identify where the All Blacks must improve, resulting in a change of personnel within his backroom staff as preparations begin for New Zealand’s two-test tour of South Africa.
“The changes we’ve made are ones that I think that the team needs, and so this is about what is the best thing for this All Blacks team to go forward and play better,” Foster told The Breakdown.
“I basically had a process that I said to our leaders and senior players, ‘You guys go away and have a think about where we’re at and the things that we have to move and give me any messages that you feel that I need to hear’.
“They did that. They all did a similar process with New Zealand Rugby, as is normal after a series.
“Out of that, I think we’ve got a clear mandate that has a strong belief in the direction we’re going, but there’s a feel that we actually need to get a new voice in there and make some changes to get the games that we want to get.
“Part of their feedback was strong about their own leadership and things that they need to do better.
“It wasn’t just about management, but there was a clear message about a couple of things, and so therein lies the rationale for the decisions that we’ve made.”
