All Blacks coach Ian Foster and new selector Joe Schmidt have unambiguously agreed that the latter’s new role is to “challenge” the team’s current setup, and Foster has left the door ajar for Schmidt to take on a coaching role in the future.
The pair fronted the media after New Zealand Rugby confirmed it had secured Schmidt’s services to replace Grant Fox. The warmth and mutual respect between them was evident as Foster celebrated landing his man after a multi-year courtship.
Foster said the fact that Schmidt saw the game differently was “a massive attraction”, indicating that the arrival of the former Ireland coach signal a genuine shift in All Blacks selections and tactics.
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“I’m forever trying to ask people and find people that can can help us grow,” Foster said. “We need to grow and we need to get better, and at times you’ve got to expose yourself to getting really challenged.
“The fact that he’s got a different perspective on the game, I think it’s vital for us. So, we feel pretty privileged he has accepted the role… and really just can’t wait to roll our sleeves up and just look at the game and see where we’re at.”
Schmidt, in his typically unassuming way, was on the same page. He gave a taste of things to come by noting that at the top level, you could not afford to let loyalty in selections “compromise the team”.
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“To be honest, it’s a bit daunting,” Schmidt said of the new role. “But at the same time if you’re going to challenge yourself and challenge other people, it has to be daunting, because that’s what high performance is all about.
“I think they’re people before players. So you have to be fair with everyone, but you can’t be exactly the same with everyone,” he said about the art of selection.
“And so you’re building those relationships and trust with players knowing that you’ve got to prioritise the team, as brutal as that sounds.
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“Because one of the things about being a selector is that if you compromise the team to make a selection based on loyalty or based on something that’s not maybe in the best interest of the team, then team members see through that pretty quickly, and that can be complicated in an incredibly interdependent environment.”
Schmidt said the timing and circumstances were right for him to take the job. With two of his children still in Dublin, his initial plan had been to stay in a job with World Rugby until 2023, travelling between New Zealand and the northern hemisphere.
However, Covid-19 had made travel difficult, and with son Luke – who has health challenges – settled in Aotearoa, Schmidt was ready to commit to something in his homeland.
He will work in a part-time role for the Blues during Super Rugby Pacific, watch the All Blacks-Ireland series with his analyst’s brain firmly engaged (he will also be entertaining guests from Ireland during that time) and then really get stuck in for the Rugby Championship in 2022.
Foster said Schmidt’s role “at this stage is a selector’s role”, suggesting it could develop into something more substantial.
However, he also made it clear that Schmidt would already be consulted about attack, defence and tactics.
“Absolutely, and I think that’s part of the selector’s role,” Foster said. “Foxy has been for a long time a great sounding board in that space.
“I think Joe will be exactly the same. And how we unfold it, and how that looks over the next year and a half – we’ll grow that as we see fit.
“I’m very excited about saying, ‘What do you think?’ and, ‘Here’s what we’re thinking,’ and, ‘Where are some obvious areas that we can change and grow?'”
Fox has enjoyed a long and successful spell as All Blacks selector and will finish up after the series against Ireland next July.
New Zealand Rugby is currently conducting a review of the All Blacks’ year, but the findings won’t be known until late January or early February.
Stuff understands there is a NZ Rugby board meeting due next February, and any further potential changes to the All Blacks coaching setup would be made at that time.
– This article originally appeared on stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission