diff --git a/master_node_install.sh b/master_node_install.sh
index 4747807..516aac3 100644
--- a/master_node_install.sh
+++ b/master_node_install.sh
@@ -296,9 +296,8 @@ wait_for_system_pods() {
     | length > 0
     and all(
         .[];
-        (
-          (.status.containerStatuses // []) | length
-        ) > 0
+        (.status.phase == "Running")
+        and ((.status.containerStatuses // []) | length > 0)
         and all(.status.containerStatuses[]; .ready == true)
       )
   ' >/dev/null; do
@@ -314,7 +313,6 @@ wait_for_system_pods() {
     fi
   done
 
-  # Give kube-proxy and service routing a moment to settle.
   sleep 20
 
   log "Waiting for bundled RKE2 addon deployments"