No winning farewell for ‘Old dog’ Smith

Wayne Smith didn’t get the Hollywood farewell the All Blacks so desperately wanted to give him.

Defence coach Smith walked out of Suncorp Stadium a free agent following the 23-18 loss to the Wallabies on Saturday night, his contract with NZ Rugby having expired and with no desire to return.

Prior to the match All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen said if the side lost in Brisbane it wouldn’t define Smith’s career, given everything he had achieved and contributed to the team as a player and a coach.

But there’s nothing like sending a bloke out with the sound of celebratory cheers echoing around the changing shed, is there?

Instead Smith, like the rest of his counterparts, had to walk into an All Blacks’ room muted by disappointment following their first loss to the Aussies in over two years.

‘‘I will miss it,’’ Smith reflected. ‘‘I will miss the people, miss the players.

‘‘There is always doom and gloom when we lose a test match. But we have lost a few in the past. But you can’t criticise the effort, that was a tough test match and Aussie played well.

‘‘Our boys put in a lot of physical effort as well, so we just have to be proud of them.

‘‘I can’t wait until I park my motorhome up somewhere.

‘‘I have got my Sky card, am going to stick it in the TV and watch the next few games on tour.’’

Given Smith is adamant that he will not return, Hansen now has to ensure his remodelled coaching team can quickly move on.