Kiwis salute proud Smith

– All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith (above) will end his 20-year association with the team today when they face the Wallabies in their final Bledisloe Cup match of the season.

There is unlikely to be any parades or statues unveiled in his hometown of Putaruru – not that the self-effacing 60-year-old known as “The Professor” would want them anyway – but All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said Smith had left an enduring legacy after three coaching stints with the team.

“He’s very open-minded, he shares things ... he was inventive, and he carried that innovation into his coaching,” Hansen told the All Blacks website. “He’s never sat still as a coach, he’s always been very passionate about it.”

Pride in the jersey is something that epitomises Smith’s lengthy career in rugby.

He spent five years as an exciting running flyhalf for the team in the 1980s, appearing 35 times, including 17 Tests, then spent time coaching in Italy before three seasons with the Crusaders.

After working with the All Blacks as an assistant under John Hart from 1998 to 99, he took the top job in the wake of their 1999 World Cup semi-final loss to France, nd was fired after failing to win the Bledisloe Cup back in 2001.

He spent three seasons with English side Northampton before being coaxed home by Graham Henry to join him as an assistant alongside Hansen. – AFP