There are nine New Zealand coaches in charge of Super Rugby sides. But who has what it takes to steer their side to victory?
THERE ARE NINE KIWI HEAD COACHES IN SUPER RUGBY, FOUR OF WHOM HAVE WON THE COMPETITION AS PLAYERS AND THREE OF WHOM HAVE COACHED A TEAM TO THE TITLE.
TANA UMAGA BLUES
YEARS IN ROLE: Third BEST FINISH: 9th 2017 WIDER EXPERIENCE: Began his career with Toulon in France taking them back to the top flight, then enjoyed a successful four-year stint with Counties Manukau – a period in which they won the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in their history and made the Premiership playoffs. Has also been involved with New Zealand Under 20s and NZ Maori. Tana Umaga was one of the great captains of the modern age. A world class midfielder with poise and defensive bite, he became All Blacks captain in 2004 and it was in that role that his strength of character, breadth of vision and ability to lead became apparent.
He’s taken that same calm demeanour and deep thinking into his coaching and while the Blues haven’t fulfilled their potential in his two years at the helm, they have significantly improved.
Umaga has been mostly consistent as a selector and has given the Blues more structure without killing their flair.
The missing piece has been his ability to turn the Blues into a side that can win the final quarter of big games. Under pressure, the Blues still crack or fail to come up with ways to win tight games.
This will be a big, big year for him as it is the last of his existing contract and one in which he needs to make that last step in transitioning the Blues into a playoff side instead of a nearly making the playoffs side.
COLIN COOPER CHIEFS
YEARS IN ROLE: First BEST FINISH: Runner-Up 2006 [Hurricanes] WIDER EXPERIENCE: His first major role was assistant coach at the Crusaders, before taking over as head coach at the Hurricanes between 2003 and 2010. The side made the playoffs five times under his guidance.
Stepped back to spend more time with family and coached Taranaki between 2011 and 2017 – transforming them into one of the most consistent provinces in the country. They won the Premiership in 2014.
He’s also had a long stint in charge of NZ Maori, stepping down this year. Colin Cooper is back in Super Rugby after a seven-year break. He’s one of the country’s most experienced coaches and the fact that he’s been there and done it all before raises expectations that he will hit the ground running with the Chiefs.
He’s come back to Super Rugby because he still loves coaching and wanted the challenge of taking over a good side and making them even better.
Having been head coach at Taranaki and the New Zealand Maori for the last seven years, he has a good handle on the players and the current state of the modern game.
He’s bringing huge knowledge and a proven track record with him.
CHRIS BOYD HURRICANES
YEARS IN ROLE: Fourth BEST FINISH: Champions 2016 WIDER EXPERIENCE: Spent more than 10 years in Wellington club rugby before taking on roles as assistant coach of Wellington and the Sharks before landing the head coaching job in the capital in 2011. After four seasons in provincial rugby where Wellington twice made the final, he was promoted to the Hurricanes in 2015. Chris Boyd has served a long and fruitful coaching apprenticeship and that is largely why he was able to take the Hurricanes to the final in his first season.
He’s a wide old head, relaxed but driven, tough but reasonable. His partnership with assistant coach John Plumtree is one of the best combinations in the competition and these two have had an outstanding three years together.
They have given the Hurricanes physical edge, belief, direction and most important of all, they have stamped out most if not all of the bad habits.
Under Boyd the Hurricanes have become consistent – they front every week and, under pressure, they are arguably New Zealand’s best performed team.
SCOTT ROBERTSON CRUSADERS
YEARS IN ROLE: Second BEST FINISH: Champions 2017 WIDER EXPERIENCE: Scott Robertson has patiently learned his craft, coming
home from a long playing stint in 2008 to work as assistant coach of Canterbury until 2013. He was promoted to the top job and guided his side to three successive titles, before stepping down to coach the New Zealand Under 20s. Won the title in his rookie season with the Crusaders. Razor is arguably the most fascinating coach in Super Rugby. He’s different but obviously gifted with it.
He transformed the Crusaders last year and the most surprising thing he did was get the best out of a handful of senior All Blacks who perhaps hadn’t always delivered their best form for the Crusaders in previous years.
He managed the squad superbly, selected his teams wisely, cleverly transformed Seta Tamanivalu into a wing and tactically transformed the Crusaders into a more direct and threatening team.
He’s articulate, excitable, a lot of fun and a bit whacky.
AARON MAUGER HIGHLANDERS
YEARS IN ROLE: First BEST FINISH: First Year as head coach in Super Rugby
WIDER EXPERIENCE: Forced to retire early, Aaron Mauger was recruited as an assistant by the Crusaders.
He served in that role for three years before he was headhunted by Leicester Tigers, his former club. Despite leading the club well, he was let go early last year but quickly landed the role at the Highlanders. Aaron Mauger is relatively inexperienced as a head coach but that shouldn’t reduce expectation that he can deliver in his first year.
He’s a bright man. He was always a clever player – composed, tactically aware and a good decision-maker.
He will be full of good ideas. He will be emotionally intelligent, won’t panic or make rash decisions and no doubt there will be plenty of innovation from the Highlanders as they try to work their way around some of their weaknesses.
BRAD THORN REDS
YEARS IN ROLE: First BEST FINISH: First year as head coach in Super Rugby WIDER EXPERIENCE: It would be fair to say that the role of head coach at the Reds has come early in the career of Brad Thorn. While his playing experience is vast across both rugby and league, he’s relatively new to coaching.
His experience is limited, having only worked with Queensland Country and as an assistant for one year with the Reds. Big Bad Brad cut his coaching teeth in the Queensland undercard age-group and country scene before landing the top job this year.
We all know that he was a great player – an incredible warrior who played professionally until he was 40.
Thorn has a brilliant work ethic, good communication skills, a healthy outlook on life and a depth of emotional intelligence.
What we don’t know is how good his tactical understanding is. Can he build cohesive gameplans and match his selections? Does he have the full range of skills he will need to connect with his entire squad?
What we do know is that he is not afraid to make big calls as he has already let star player Quade Cooper go.
DARYL GIBSON WARATAHS
YEARS IN ROLE: Third BEST FINISH: 10th WIDER EXPERIENCE: Daryl Gibson was always a good candidate to get into coaching such was his intelligence and composure as a player. His first step into management was as a player-coach with Glasgow, before he came home as an assistant with the Crusaders.
After four years there he shifted to the same role with the Waratahs, earning promotion in 2016. Daryl Gibson is an intelligent, articulate coach with ample international experience as a player. He’s still in the fledgling stages of his coaching career having worked as an assistant at both the Crusaders and Waratahs before being promoted to the top job in Sydney in 2016.
He’s in charge of a side with potential, but also with deepseated problems due to the prevailing culture and attitude that exists in Sydney.
Moving into his third year in the role, the time has come for the Waratahs to play consistently well, dominate the Australian Conference and for Gibson to stamp his mark all over the team.
JOHN MITCHELL BULLS
YEARS IN ROLE: First BEST FINISH: 6th [Chiefs 2001] WIDER EXPERIENCE: John Mitchell has more than 20 years top flight experience, starting with Sale in Manchester, which landed him a role with England as an assistant.
He was head coach of the Chiefs for two years and then won the All Blacks head coaching job between 2001 and 2003. He has been head coach of Waikato, the Western Force, the Lions and the USA Eagles. There is no doubt that John Mitchell has a good understanding of how to play successful rugby. Tactically he’s smart and quite innovative.
He’s also got a wealth of experience having coached in England, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the USA. He’s had exposure to the international game as an assistant with England and head coaching roles with the All Blacks and USA Eagles, and plenty of Super Rugby experience with the Chiefs, Force and Lions.
His CV looks great but then there have also been issues – problems with his behaviour and attitude and at both the Force and Lions there were major reviews into his conduct.
The question is can he find the right balance of using his obvious talents without tainting his work?
JAMIE JOSEPH SUNWOLVES
YEARS IN ROLE: First BEST FINISH: Champions [Highlanders 2015] WIDER EXPERIENCE: Jamie Joseph is up there as one of the most experienced coaches in the competition. He was head coach of Wellington and his success there led to him landing the head coaching role at the Highlanders in 2011. In 2014 he took them to the playoffs and then coached them to their first title the following year.
He was headhunted to take over coaching Japan from Eddie Jones in 2016 and is now combining that role with the Sunwolves. It took Jamie Joseph a bit of time to refine his coaching and produce successful teams. He is renowned for being a tough taskmaster and demanding the highest standards of conditioning and commitment from his players.
Once he softened his stance a fraction he was able to transform the Highlanders into a champion team – winning in 2015 on the back of their relentless defence and incredible character.
He’ll be looking to give the Sunwolves those same qualities.