Wynne Gray
can’t understand why some people are in such a rush to see Tana Umaga’s contract at the Blues extended.
CONJECTURE TANA UMAGA will continue as Blues head coach next season does not make sense.
It has everything to do with continuity and bypassing the need to look at other possibilities rather than an in-depth look into what he has brought to and developed at the Super Rugby franchise.
Umaga has overseen a group which finished 11th in his debut season and ninth last year and has consistent struggles against the other New Zealand franchises, yet on the evidence of those results and his work in the group, we are told his contract will be renewed for 2019.
That hints at a cop-out from the Blues, a holding pattern to get them through a disjointed World Cup season before a wider range of coaching contenders come into the market.
Maybe there are coaches in overseas roles who would consider returning for what is supposed to be a plum position for ambitious professional leaders but are tied to contracts through until next year. Some may be involved with the World Cup and wouldn’t be available until the end of next year.
That’s way too late because contracting and selecting players for the 2020 programme will have been done and asking a new coach to develop and guide a squad picked without any of his input, is an awkward task on many levels.
Waiting with some hope that a coach of the calibre of Joe Schmidt, Warren Gatland or Vern Cotter wants to immerse themselves in a Super Rugby job after next year’s World Cup is an impractical and flawed concept.
Even if by chance they wanted to do the job, when could they commit and how would that play out?
An interim coach and staff would have to do most of the selection and coaching before the new boss might arrive around Christmas next year.
The Blues should be in the market now, sussing out interest from those with international experience and putting them up against Umaga and other domestic coaches who fancy their chances of improving the team’s performance and results.
If they strike gold and find an impressive coach, then he and the Blues administration can work together on signing players and forming a squad rather than inheriting players the current regime likes.
It’s not ideal but signing any new coach never is. Pick them at the start of the year and their shadow will hang over the incumbent’s final campaign while an end of year announcement restricts player recruitment.
Extending Umaga’s deal on a notion that he deserves it or because it papers over other issues is a slap in the face for aspiring New Zealand coaches who fancy their work at the helm.
So too mentions the Blues may offer Umaga a different role like a director of rugby with a much broader command of the franchise’s performance and a new coach underneath.
That type of arrangement was mooted by supporters of the Blues previous coach John Kirwan as a way of fudging his coaching flaws but using his mana and personal skills in the region.
That concept or talk of rubber-stamping Umaga’s deal before this season’s campaign began, seemed premature rather than a solid arrangement designed to boost both Umaga’s credentials and the Blues’ progress.
Suggestions that an early call from the Blues announcing an extension to his contract would give the players and supporters a transparent appraisal and a platform for the future, simply does not cut it.
Equally, endorsements from players only go so far because they are unlikely to criticise someone who has provided them with employment.
The Blues have improved during Umaga’s term but they had plenty of room for that and while they have made gains so have the other four New Zealand teams.
There’s a faction who argue that progress, any progress,in the Blues, is a victory after the messy record in the last 15 years.
Umaga and those around him have delivered a more respected approach although the usual struggles continue with player retention, recruitment and results.
He’s taken his time moving through the coaching world with an offshore apprenticeship then work in the national provincial championship before stepping up to Super Rugby.
Sometimes these things gel but the list of coaches who survive lengthy tenures is limited.
Refreshing, improving and sustaining results is a rugby puzzle and sometimes there is no explanation other than the potion did not mix. Professional rugby is a cruel beast which craves success and spurns the alternatives.
Umaga has the advantage of regular interaction with the Blues board to detail his plans but those officials should raise the heat and put his job up for tender now.
They should get independent advice on any names who appear and balance those contenders against what they have learned about the incumbent.
It’s natural Umaga wants his contract extended through next season and that option has some benefits in a year which will be interrupted by the All Blacks’ plans for the World Cup.
Equally if there is someone else ready to go next year, he should be given time to look at his roster and get organised by mid-year rather than taking a backseat until the series is finished.
Defending the Blues’ performances and results on the basis they had a tough draw to start this year is a red herring. It’s tough for every side and they all deal with competition difficulties.