Marshall gets nod from Razor
Some opportunities are too good to decline– even if it means breaking a promise to your other half.
That was the case for James Marshall when Crusaders coach Scott Robertson called and offered him a role as assistant coach with the 13-times Super Rugby champions.
Marshall, a former Hurricanes, Tasman and Taranaki player, was today confirmed as Leinster-bound Andrew Goodman’s replacement.
‘‘I’d pretty much promised my wife once I finished playing I wasn’t going to chase the coaching dream, I wasn’t going to keep moving around like we had to when I was playing,’’ Marshall said.
‘‘But when you get approached by
Razor, and he says he wants you to be a part of the team, it’s impossible to turn down.’’
So, after completing a third season as assistant coach with the Tasman Mako in the coming months, Marshall, wife Briony and sons Ollie, Toby and Bobby will relocate from Nelson to Christchurch.
‘‘Initially, she [Briony] was like, ‘what?’. But she’s coming around now and is pretty excited by the opportunity and another fresh start.’’
Having also played in Japan and Europe, the 33-year-old and his family plan to make the Garden City their long-term home.
Unlike Goodman, who moved between Nelson and Christchurch while juggling his Crusaders assistant coaching role and the Tasman head coach job, Marshall will focus solely on the Crusaders after this year’s NPC.
He’ll work with the backs, particularly the back three. Scott Hansen will continue to work closely with the halfbacks and first fiveeighths, while Tamati Ellison will take care of the midfielders.
Marshall retired from rugby after hip surgery in 2020. It was then when his coaching career started with Tasman, initially lapping up as much knowledge as he could from Goodman and now Highlanders coach Clarke Dermody.
His role increased last year, and will go up another notch during the looming NPC.
Despite not chasing the ‘‘coaching dream’’ – Marshall always felt there was a coach within him during his playing days, which included 54 games for the Hurricanes and 43 for London Irish.
‘‘I was never really blessed with athletic ability to rip up opposition on the rugby field, but I always felt how much time I put into my analysis, or preview-review stuff, I’ve always loved that side of the game.
‘‘Even when I was out there, some days I felt like I was more of a coach than a player, even when I was at fullback, passing information to the 10, which was often Beauden [Barrett] at the time.’’
Not that Marshall needed convincing, brother Tom, who played 42 games for the Crusaders between 2011-2013, pushed him to snap up the opportunity to help coach the most successful team in Super Rugby history.
‘‘He was stoked for me. He was the first one to say, ‘absolutely nobrainer, get down there, you’ll love it’.’’