All Blacks great Murray Mexted says he’s “disgusted” by how former coach Ian Foster was treated by NZ Rugby.
Speaking on the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin, Mexted said he had read Foster’s autobiography Leading Under Pressure.
“I really enjoyed the book,” Mexted said. “It explained a lot to me. It showed how inept New Zealand Rugby have been over the last few years, and some of the things he exposed were disgraceful, quite frankly.”
Mexted praised Foster for navigating a turbulent period, including off-field distractions and administrative challenges, while still guiding the All Blacks to the 2023 World Cup final.
“He needs to be commended for achieving so much under that sort of duress,” he said. “When you look at what he dealt with, to get within one point of winning a World Cup final [against the Springboks] was a fantastic effort.”
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The 1987 World Cup winner was particularly critical of the decision to appoint Foster’s successor before the global showpiece.
“I can’t believe the naivety of the people who made that decision,” Mexted said. “Naming a new coach before a World Cup, that is just lunacy.”
A year earlier, NZ Rugby had pushed to replace Foster with Scott Robertson before the players stepped in to save Foster.
Robertson was duly appointed All Blacks coach on a four-year contract post the 2023 World Cup, but was summarily dismissed in January this year.
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Mexted also drew comparisons with Rassie Erasmus, noting that the Springbok boss had also initially had to fight for authority within the SA Rugby system.
“You look at Rassie, he had to fight tooth and nail early on,” Mexted said. “But he’s won people over now, and he’s in a powerful position, doing what he wants and doing it well.”
He added that success at the highest level required alignment between coaches and administrators – something he believes was badly lacking in Foster’s case.
“At that level, you need everything going for you,” Mexted said. “The support just wasn’t sufficient.”
Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
The post Mexted blasts NZ Rugby over coach’s treatment appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
All Blacks great Murray Mexted says he’s “disgusted” by how former coach Ian Foster was treated by NZ Rugby.
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