Jason Ryan

The assistant has been working with the Pacific Islanders since 2020 and had been signed until the 2023 Rugby World Cup finals in France. 

However, he will now be at that tournament as an All Blacks assistant after he was recruited last weekend by New Zealand Rugby when they opted to bring in Ryan to assist Ian Foster and jettison John Plumtree and Brad Mooar. 

Ryan, who has been Crusaders forward coach since 2017, was in Fiji when he got what he calls the surprise call from coach Ian Foster.

He was appointed assistant coach at the weekend as the All Blacks reshuffled their coaching roster following the 2-1 loss to Ireland.

Ryan says while he's still getting his head around all the calls, he's loved his brief time with the team.

"There are a lot of moving parts to the All Blacks machine but the boys have been outstanding, he said at Tuesday's training session in Wellington.

Forwards coach John Plumtree and attacking coach Brad Mooar have been cut from their roles following the reshuffle, according to a statement released from the All Blacks today.

The All Blacks have appointed Crusaders' Jason Ryan as their new forwards coach.

The Crusaders have set the benchmark in terms of consistent performances from their All Black-laden pack and Ryan's six years at the side resulted in six Super Rugby titles.