Ian Foster says the Wallabies are “absolutely” a chance of producing one of rugby’s biggest upsets this century later when they host the British and Irish Lions this year.
The former All Blacks coach, who bowed out of international rugby following the 2023 World Cup final in Paris, burst back into the headlines on Thursday after quickly accepting a role as a senior coach for the AUNZ Invitational XV against the Lions in Adelaide on Saturday, July 12.
“I got a call from Rugby Australia through Ben Whitaker about my interest in being involved,” said Foster, who was a part of the All Blacks coaching set up at three World Cup campaigns and the 2017 Lions series.
“He wanted me to go away and think about it and I basically said ‘yes’ straight away.
“It’s a great opportunity. Lions series are iconic, they’re special and this is a new innovation from Rugby Australia to bring this team in, and to get a chance to be involved in it is awesome.”
But don’t get any ideas that Foster will want to succeed his former All Blacks coaching colleague Joe Schmidt in taking over the Wallabies later this year.
“I think it’s probably time for an Aussie coach,” he said. “My accent’s not quite right.
“But I think if you look in your own backyard, you’ve got some good coaches developing there, and I think that’s the likely place to be looking.”
Former colleagues with the All Blacks, Ian Foster will work closely with Joe Schmidt to help pick the combined AUNZ invitational team to play the Lions in Adelaide. (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images)
Foster is one of the first names associated with the invitational side.
But there’s still many unanswered questions around the make-up of the invitational team like who Foster will be joined by in the coaching ranks, as well as who will take to the field.
Asked who he’d spoken to about joining him in Adelaide, Foster admitted the ball had yet to really get rolling.
“Yeah, basically none,” he said. “Until today it’s been pretty quiet. So I guess now that this is out, we’ll start to get a bit of interest.”
Foster did however confirm that there’s likely to be a strong emphasis on the next generation of Wallabies.
“I don’t know 100 per cent,” Foster admitted.
“I had initial talks to [Wallabies coach] Joe [Schmidt] and, in this case, whatever they want, we’ll do.
“You’ve got a whole Super Rugby campaign to go, so there’ll be potential injuries, potential changes to squads, all sorts of stuff.
“But I imagine that when Joe picks the Wallabies squad that they’ll keep that squad together, because they’ll have a lot of work to do, they’ve got three Tests to get ready for, three big ones in a row.
“I’m anticipating this is more guys on the fringe of their wider squad. And in some ways, I reckon that’s a really exciting thing to do because it opens the door, maybe to some younger players, gives them a big occasion.
“It also gives the Wallabies good options if they have injuries during the three-Test campaign to bring people in. And they already know the state of the competition and the opposition. So, I’m anticipating that type of player.”
Foster does however believe there will be wide interest from All Blacks, especially Japan-based New Zealanders, and said Aaron Smith and Richie Mo’unga, who were key figures under his mentorship, were obvious targets.
“I think I have (a wish list),” Foster said. “I don’t want to share it too early.
Ian Foster says Richie Mo’unga would be a player he’d like to consider for the AUNZ invitational team. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
“This is a Rugby Australia selected team of which I’ll obviously help from this part of the world and from a New Zealand perspective.
“But it’s making sure that it’s experienced enough and strong enough to be really competitive. It’s not a festival game, it’s a chance to put on a new jersey that no one’s worn before. And to play in, like I said, a very, very special series.
“I was involved in the 2017 Lions series. I know how big they are and how special they are, and there’s no such thing as a dud game.
“There’ll be a lot of players that want to be involved. When you look at the New Zealand-based players in Japan, I guess you’ve got the likes of Aaron Smith, Richie Mo’unga, those type of guys that would be really good targets for this sort of game.”
Foster also indicated that former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, who will captain the Verblitz this weekend after coming out of retirement earlier this year, was a likely target for the match.
“There’s a young kid in Nagoya called Michael Hooper, who’s gone pretty good at the moment,” Foster quipped.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing him back having a bit of a sniff. I haven’t told him that yet either, by the way. This will be a surprise to him.”
For Foster, the invitational game is a chance for a bit of redemption after the All Blacks’ dramatic series with the Lions finished in a remarkable, controversial draw after Frenchman Romain Poite opted not to penalise the tourists for an offside call.
Romain Poite talks to All Black captain Kieran Read after reversing a decision in their third British and Irish Lions Test at Eden Park on July 8, 2017 in Auckland. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
The decision denied the All Blacks a chance to kick for the corner or a match-winning penalty attempt.
“One-all, and a draw. It didn’t leave any of us very satisfied,” Foster said.
“It was a tight series, it was tough. It probably wasn’t as open a rugby as I would have liked, but that’s the pressure of Lions series. So, yeah, there is unfinished business.
“You go back to the last minute of that Lions series, the third Test at Eden Park and the drama of it, and referee decisions that obviously we just agreed with, and probably most people did. But that’s the drama of a big series. And that’s the part to look forward to.
“And so the chance to get involved, that would be quite nice to tick the box, wouldn’t it?”
So can the Wallabies do what the All Blacks failed to do?
“Absolutely,” Foster said. “I think we saw some significant growth last year.
“Clearly, I’ve worked closely with Joe over the years. And I can just see the foundation pieces put in place. There’s a lot of work to be done.
“[I’m] certainly seeing growth in some individuals during Super Rugby, which is great. And clearly there’ll be a lot of excitement from the players.
“But the Wallabies are going to have to be at their best. This will be a tough Lions team dominated probably by Irish and English, I think. So you’re going to know that it’s going to be a very physical game. They will play a strong, structured set-piece game, and that’s an area that’s really going to challenge the Wallabies.
“But, again, they’re making good strides there. And these series are where people grow, and you have to grow quickly. And so certainly I do. I give them a good chance.”
Ian Foster believes the Wallabies can “absolutely” beat the Lions. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Foster said the Lions’ biggest challenge would be getting on the same page.
“The chinks are always going to be small,” he said.
“When you combine four strong teams from the Northern Hemisphere, they’ve just come off a big Six Nations, everything’s competitive.
“The experience of the Lions series is that they’re tough all the way through the group, 1-15.
“The challenge is in the cohesion.
“The challenge is how quickly you can get your team believing in the style of game that you want to play.
“That’s generally where the home team has always had a little bit of an edge in the Lions series is that you know your style a bit clearer.
“So the real important thing is that the games leading up to the Test series is that the Lions get challenged in certain areas, and the Wallabies are able to pick their strategy based on what happens in those games. And so I think these build-up games are vital for the series, for the Wallabies to figure out where they want to play.”
“But you could see a game emerging for the Wallabies last year that I don’t think they’ll stray too far from.”
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