Ian Foster remains All Blacks coach until 2023 Rugby World Cup, NZ Rugby announces

Ian Foster will coach the All Blacks through to next year's Rugby World Cup, New Zealand Rugby said on Wednesday, giving him a vote of confidence despite recent poor performances.

A relieved-looking Foster thanked the board and CEO Mark Robinson for their "strong support" after a meeting to decide his fate.

"It's a privilege to be in this job, it's never something you take for granted," Foster said.

The 57-year-old stays in charge for the All Blacks' next home Test, against Argentina in Christchurch on August 27, and will coach New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup in France in September 2023.

Foster will receive extra support with former Ireland boss Joe Schmidt coaching the attack, having been a New Zealand selector.

"Joe Schmidt has been on my radar for a couple of years," said Foster.

"We've decided to move him from the computer room to put him on the park a bit more."

Stewart Mitchell, chairperson of New Zealand Rugby, said the board had faith in Foster despite the All Blacks losing three of five Test matches so far this year, triggering calls from fans and media for him to be sacked.

"I want to absolutely emphasise that both Ian Foster as head coach and Mark as CEO has full support from the board," said Mitchell.

Foster had been under fierce pressure after back-to-back home defeats to Ireland last month, followed by a heavy loss to South Africa.

"It's clearly been a difficult time, the start of the campaign we didn't get what we wanted against Ireland and that created a lot of performance stress," Foster said.

News update ahead of the series with Argentina. pic.twitter.com/5zZZTnnUNN

'Shocked and disturbed'

Even after the All Blacks bounced back last Saturday with a stunning 35-23 win over the Springboks in the second Test in