Mains’ pick for AB’s coach
Dunedin: Laurie Mains has mentioned Jamie Joseph, Scott Robertson and Dave Rennie as possible All Blacks coaching contenders but says the next coach needs to “have experienced adversity”.
Mains, who coached the All Blacks team to an extra-time defeat in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, told Radio New Zealand there were a number of options to replace Steve Hansen, who will step down after Friday’s Rugby World Cup bronze medal game against Wales.
Mains, who coached the All Blacks from 1992 to 1995, said it was also important the new coach could “show that durability under pressure and make correct decisions under pressure. I think is really important. And, obviously they have to have had some success”.
Mains said Joseph and Rennie had demonstrated they could rebuild teams and while he stressed he was not saying Robertson could not coach the All Blacks, he noted the champion Crusaders coach had only worked with “a winning team”.
Robertson - who became the first man to coach three consecutive Super Rugby champion teams - has “got a really good record,” Mains said on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Reportshow on Monday morning. “He’s a winning coach, but he’s always had a winning team, in other words a team that’s at least been as strong in playing personnel as the teams they’ve played against.
“We probably haven’t seen him under adversity so much.”
Mains said Robertson was “still pretty young, as a coach. I’m not saying he’s not ready to take on the All Blacks ... but he has got more time in front of him. “Some of the others, Dave Rennie, Jamie Joseph, they are probably at the peak of their powers now.”
Rennie is now coaching the Glasgow Warriors in Europe’s PRO 14 competition and is reportedly Rugby Australia’s first choice to replace Michael Cheika as Wallabies coach.
Mains has a lot of respect for Rennie for his Super Rugby transformation feats with the Chiefs, who he guided to the 2012 and 2013 Super Rugby titles.
Joseph - who coached Japan to a World Cup quarterfinal place for the first time - was in Mains’ 1995 World Cup squad as a hardnosed blindside flanker.