Rugby World Cup: Where next for All Blacks coach Ian Foster?

All Blacks coach Ian Foster could return to New Zealand with the Webb Ellis Cup, be showered with praise by grateful fans and still feel unloved by his employer, NZ Rugby.

As he always likes to say, this is a tough business.

Foster didn't want to discuss employment matters on the eve of the World Cup final in Paris; his focus was preparing the team to beat the defending champions, the Springboks, at Stade de France on Sunday morning (NZT), not ruminating about where he would earn future pay cheques.

Unlike eight players who are joining him in leaving the All Blacks set-up, and have announced they will play offshore or retire, Foster was cryptic about his next career step.

"I've got lots of ideas, but first I'm going to mow my lawns,'' he said after naming his team to play the Boks. "I will be coaching, though, by the way.''

What is certain, is this: win, or lose, Foster will soon be unhitched from NZ Rugby's payroll.

He isn't likely to be starved of job offers.

Four years as All Blacks coach, and the previous eight as an assistant to Sir Steve Hansen, would look good on any resume. Foster could work as a consultant, follow many Kiwi coaches to Japan, or see what pops up in Europe.

That is, of course, if he wants to leave New Zealand. But whatever Foster does next will, in all likelihood, be considered a consolation prize because it was the All Blacks job he craved.

He's the first All Blacks coach to be sacked before a global tournament.

At the start of the year NZ Rugby told Foster the organisation wanted to take the unprecedented step of interviewing candidates before the World Cup.

Foster knew the writing was on the wall, and that it was pointless to reapply.

He was unhappy, but couldn't be assuaged, taking the unusual step of railing against his employer to selected media outlets.

It was Foster's belief NZ Rugby should do what it had always done; wait until after the tournament, and judge him on the results in France.

But NZ Rugby reckoned Foster had been given a fair crack since replacing Hansen after the 2019 World Cup, and there was an appetite for change.

There was a challenger for the throne and NZ Rugby knew that if it waited until after the event in France, Scott Robertson, who had a remarkable run of success at the Crusaders since 2017, would already be gone, lost to another country or club.

Foster disagreed, saying all the plum jobs had already been filled, Robertson had nowhere to go and could still have the opportunity to challenge him.

Contrary to Foster's belief, however, there were vacancies elsewhere.

Japan, Italy and Fiji could have locked in Robertson as a replacement for their departing coaches. Big Irish club Leinster was also on the hunt earlier this year. It has since signed Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber.

NZ Rugby also owed Robertson after initially saying he would replace Foster in August last year, before reneging and backing Foster through to the World Cup.

Learning from past mistakes to prosper in the future was important for NZ Rugby.

It was also mindful that it had been criticised after the 2019 World Cup for not being proactive when sounding out potential candidates to replace Hansen.

Dave Rennie (Australia) and Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown (both Japan) had committed to other national unions by the time NZ Rugby knocked on their doors, leaving Foster, who had spent eight years as an assistant to Hansen, and Robertson to duel it out for the top job.

The re-match against Robertson, who has been awarded a four-year contract through to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, never eventuated after Foster knew it was pointless to try and cling to his job.

Apart from forwards coach Jason Ryan, the majority of the support staff, apart from strength and conditioning coach Nic Gill, will also depart when Foster files his last report and hands back his laptop.

When he does it will strike a bold line under what has been a difficult, and controversial, four years.

Foster had to develop a team during a global pandemic, sacked a couple of assistants, hired a few more as replacements, and then made it the most potent attacking unit at the World Cup.

His tenure has been anything but uneventful.

Asked how he's coped in what has been a difficult period, starting with the 2-1 series loss to Ireland last year, Foster was realistic.

"I've just started to get my back nice and straight from last year, and you're trying to make me hunched over again,'' he quipped.

"It's the life of this business, it's a tough game. It's tough when you're trying to get your performance right. It's a tough game when people around you see things differently, but we've learned a lot about ourselves.''

If he follows the lead of Hansen, he could find work in Japan. Sir Graham Henry, when he retired after 2011, was involved with the Argentina team. Sir Wayne Smith said he would never coach against New Zealand.

Foster may be of the same view.

If he guides the All Blacks to a World Cup crown, and defies the odds after the team entered the tournament listed No 4 on the World Rugby rankings, the job offers will fill his letter box.

"We take massive pride in the jersey and making sure we reach the levels we want to. The rest of that is probably a conversation for another day,'' Foster said.

“It hasn’t altered our vision of where we want this team to be. I know we’ve surprised a few people but I don’t think we’ve surprised ourselves.”