Cotter Plans Ahead
■ Assistant coaches all confirmed for All Blacks Test matches in July ■ Closely scrutinising the availability of Europe-based players as they need to comply with all COVID-19 requirements ■ Fitness monitoring of more than 40 players has been ongoing
■ Players told to prepare themselves mentally
Works in developing the Flying Fijians into a cohesive unit is still under progress.
This was the gist of Flying Fijians head coach Vern Cotter’s interview as they head towards their two Tests showdown against the All Blacks on July 10 and July 17. Speaking to SUNsports on Thursday, Cotter confirmed the availability of all his assistant coaches.
“Yes, we have the same group that went to Europe (Autumn Nations Cup) and we are looking to pick upfrom where we left against Georgia last year,” Cotter said.
The assistant coaches are:
■ Former international referee Glen Jackson, who is the skills coach. He will also teach players of what referees see and how they react in a move to reduce the number of penalty count.
■Former All Blacks centre and Waratahs head coach Daryl Gibson, to be the backline coach
■ Jason Ryan, who has won three Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders, will guide the forwards.
■ Former Springboks assistant coach, Richie Gray, who is an internationally acclaimed expert on the breakdown and defense. He also works as a tackling consultant in the NFL.
Cotter said at the moment they were waiting to see players that would be available from Europe.
“There are a number of challenges relating to COVID-19 and one is dealing with isolation in New Zealand during arrival. And then preparing for a Test match- we wentthrough this in Europe last year so we have had prior experience,” he said.
Cotter highlighted that proper planning was very important.
He said players whose clubs in Europe had made it to the semi-finals and so on won’t be able to make it in time.
“Our strength and conditioning coaches are monitoring a group of around 40 players through their clubs to ensure that we had a fit group to select from.”
He also highlighted they have a few players in Australia and New Zealand that are of interest to them.
“Conversations are taking place at present,” Cotter added.
Message to players
The no-nonsense coach has called on players to prepare themselves mentally and physically.
“This is a massive opportunity it has been 10 years since we last played the All Blacks, games like this are the pinnacle of a career.””