Ian Foster is now back home and enjoying his rest after leading New Zealand to the final of "one of the toughest World Cups" ever competed for, but he's tight-lipped about what's next down the road for his career. 

Talking to The Mike Hosking Breakfast on Friday, he lamented at missing out on a bacon and cheese snack after being picked up from the airport by one of his daughters. 

He's returned home to a tidy lawn, his youngest daughter has been maintaining the yard while he fought away in France - but whether he's at peace about the experience is still up for debate. 

"I think I am, but I'm still going over everything," said Foster. 

"We went into a World Cup that we all knew would be one of the toughest ever and nearly nailed it, so I'm at peace we did everything we could and gave everything we got, but still there's always a massive disappointment we couldn't get across the line."

The battle for a fourth World Cup title ended with a victory to South Africa, who walked away with a single-point win against an All Blacks side that steam-rollered several opponents and dramatically overcame the number one-ranked rugby side at the time, Ireland in the quarter-final. 

Foster said he always believed his team could win it, his side had gone into the second half of last year playing "really well". With the imminent departure of several senior players, Foster introduced young talent into leading positions. 

"We were feeling like we were in a good place, but the nature of the World Cup draw effectively meant the top four teams played each other in the quarter-finals and two were going to go home," he said. 

"Imagine being in France and Ireland right now - they went in with the highest hopes of winning the cup and got knocked out in the quarters. So that shows how close the margins were."

Foster called his four-year tenure an interesting one, which started with friction between the players and the New Zealand Rugby board over the Silver Lake deal. 

"That was a platform of a niggly relationship between the players and the board which wasn't actually anything to do with me but that was the paradigm I came into."

The way the seasons were structured also changed, Foster noted his team only played South Africa at home once in the four years he took charge, but "once things settled down" the playing style began to develop and the World Cup challenge became an exciting prospect. 

For Foster personally, he felt pride in how his coaching and management group responded to the news that the World Cup campaign would signal the end of their campaign together. 

"But, we were able to keep our focus singularly on what we needed to do and for that, I'm proud of the group."

Foster said his relationship with the public was a unique one, given the fact his job "always seemed to be under a condition". 

"They had another candidate that half the people wanted, and from then that was the lens they looked at everything with," he said. 

"Once people fix their minds on an opinion it's very hard to move them, and to be fair I'm relaxed with that."

It was this balance of keeping the public on his side that revealed to Foster how highly motivated his group of players were, he concluded you can't please everybody and said he focused on those who backed him and the team. 

"I think you've got to separate some factions of the rugby media and the public, they're two different audiences."

Hosking discussed Wayne Barnes announcing his retirement from refereeing, following an international career spanning 17 years and a record 111 tests across five World Cups. 

The Englishman was reportedly the subject of death threats in the aftermath of officiating the World Cup final. 

Foster told Mike Hosking that some of the feedback was unacceptable.

"It's not just a personal thing but with players as well, some of the feedback gets far beyond where it needs to be," he said. 

"We need to be open to criticism - we know that - it's all part of the job, but I think people have to learn to be more considered in how they criticise, referees deal with a lot of pressure no doubt about that."

Foster was asked if he'd ever considered applying for the All Blacks job again if Scott Robertson hadn't been appointed to take over, and if would he have expected to get it. 

His answer was hesitant. 

"I do know the number one thing you want in this job, because of the pressure you're put under, particularly the pressure of Covid and circumstances of rugby being changed, as an All Black coach you need the confidence from your board and CEO," he said.

"That's the first thing I'd have sought to clarify before I put my name in the hat again."

Hosking probed if he'd consider applying to become the Australia national team head coach, which drew a laugh from Foster. 

"Look, I'm having a rest - I'm doing well just to get out of bed for this interview," he said during the 7.30am segment. 

Foster only revealed he'd been provided options before the World Cup but declined to engage with them any further, wanting his sole focus to be on winning the tournament. 

He said he didn't want his team or the country to think his focus was only on sorting himself out instead of leading the nation to potential World Cup glory.

While the timing isn't perfect, given many top jobs have now been snatched up by other candidates, Foster said he hopes the public saw his dedication to the role and will now take time to determine his next steps. 

"You've got your club stuff in Europe, you've got Japan, then there's the international game," said Foster.

"But it's immensely difficult trying to talk about coaching another country when you've just had twelve years with the best team in the world and it's so close to my heart. Quite frankly, I need to breathe a little bit before I go down the other path."