New Zealand Rugby is set to confirm that the next All Blacks coach will be appointed before the World Cup.
Stuff understands an appointment is likely within the next six weeks.
NZR chair Dame Patsy Reddy is expected make the announcement at a media conference in Wellington at 11.30am on Wednesday.
Stuff understands senior All Blacks and the All Blacks management group were informed of the early appointment decision on Tuesday.
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Incumbent All Blacks coach Ian Foster will still be coaching through to the 2023 World Cup.
Foster last week criticised the timeline for appointing a new coach for 2024 and beyond.
He claimed NZR wanted their 2024 All Blacks coaching group contracted by April, a move he felt unnecessary as he called on his employer to “let the needs of the team outweigh the needs of a few”.
Foster – head coach since 2019 after seven seasons as assistant-coach to Steve Hansen – told NZME he may want to continue in his current role as head coach in 2024, especially if New Zealand won the World Cup.
Crusaders coach Scott Robertson and Japan’s head coach Jamie Joseph are seen as leading candidates if NZR decides to end Foster’s tenure.
Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read this week urged NZR to appoint Robertson as All Blacks coach sooner rather than later.
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