Support, Taumalolo priorities for Maguire: Kemp

SYDNEY: Two things will dictate the success of New Zealand’s next coach, according to former Kiwis international Tony Kemp.

Getting the right coaching staff and and getting Jason Taumalolo back on board.

Former South Sydney mentor Michael Maguire is poised to be unveiled as David Kidwell’s suc cessor this afternoon.

Kemp believes Kidwell was set up to fail because of the lack of quality support around him leading into and during last year’s poor World Cup campaign, when the Kiwis were stunned by Fiji in the quarterfinals.

He said Maguire would suffer the same fate if the New Zealand Rugby League did not successfully overhaul its back office and team management structure.

‘‘We saw David Kidwell left out in the lurch,’’ Kemp said.

‘‘You had a highperformance department that wasn’t working and a CEO [Alex Hayton] that lacked leadership.

‘‘If they think they can fix this problem by just hiring a coach, they’ve got rocks in their head.’’

Kemp said Maguire, who steered Souths to the 2014 NRL premiership before being sacked last season, would need some early advice on preparing for a test, which is completely different to the club grind.

A priority should be luring blockbusting North Queensland forward Taumalolo, who deserted the Kiwis last year and represented Tonga in their charge to the World Cup semifinals.

Kemp said Taumalolo’s move inspired others to choose Pacific Island representation and his return would have a similar impact.

‘‘Michael’s first task is to connect with the players and, more importantly, to connect with the players that we’ve lost,’’ he said.

‘‘Jason’s decision in particular had a definite ripple effect through the junior grades.

‘‘If those players stay away, the question becomes whether we remain a tier one team or whether we get sucked into the tier two position on the international criteria.’’