Robinson issued a short statement a day after New Zealand's 32-22 loss in the third and deciding Test in Wellington, resulting in a home series defeat for the All Blacks for the first time in the professional era.

"Congratulations to the Irish team for their well-deserved win last night, but clearly the performance across the series for the All Blacks was not acceptable, as we know they have reflected. We all know there is a huge amount of work to do," Robinson said.

"Our focus now is to work with Ian and his team to understand thoroughly in advance of the Rugby Championship what is needed to improve performance and where to go from here. We will begin this work immediately."

A press conference scheduled with Foster earlier on Sunday was inexplicably cancelled.

The 57-year-old told reporters immediately after the Test that he would not speak about his job, only the game, with a media officer stepping in to prevent further questioning.

Former long-serving assistant coach Foster was under pressure going into the series because of his modest record since succeeding Steve Hansen in 2020.

After winning the first Test in Auckland, New Zealand was outplayed by Andy Farrell's well-drilled Irish team, and has now lost four of the last five Tests.

Schmidt in wings

Foster has overseen 16 wins in 24 Tests, unacceptable by his country's lofty expectations, and the All Blacks have dropped to a record-low fourth in the world rankings as their indomitable reputation is corroded by the results and glaring on-field flaws.

Foster is likely to need to explain himself over the coming days to the board, which last year extended his contract through to next year's World Cup, a decision that attracted widespread criticism.

New Zealand last changed its head coach between World Cups in 2002, when John Mitchell succeeded an underperforming Wayne Smith.

Robinson's desire for urgency comes less than three weeks before New Zealand's next assignment: two Rugby Championship Tests in South Africa against the world champion Springboks. The team was scheduled to have a week's rest to recover from the bruising Ireland series before reassembling and flying to South Africa.

Former successful Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has been added to the All Blacks coaching staff for the Rugby Championship, which will also see Tests against Argentina and Australia, with some pundits believing Schmidt should take over from Foster.

If NZ Rugby wants a complete change, it could call on Canterbury Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, who has overseen six successful Super Rugby campaigns and has been open about his desire for the national role.

Former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick fanned the flames on Sunday, saying New Zealand had been "outcoached" by Ireland while speaking to Sky Sports.

The official All Blacks Facebook page attracted a stream of criticism directed at Foster and his assistant coaching team.