Lancaster’s rugby talent can cross codes
STEVE LANCASTER was looking for one thing from Netball New Zealand.
It was the key to all the success he’d had with the Crusaders and Canterbury rugby and is now a nonnegotiable in any role he takes. Lancaster has skills and a track record of success, but they can only take him so far.
He needs a particular thing to work with and finding it at NNZ was the reason he’s their new head of high performance.
‘‘Without good people it’s very hard to achieve anything,’’ Lancaster said from Vancouver, where he is soon to finish as manager of high performance at Rugby Canada.
‘‘One of things that attracted me is clearly there are good people involved at NNZ and, through my interaction with them and through the background research that I’ve done, it’s clear that the people involved in the game are highly regarded and there’s an immense amount of passion for netball in New Zealand.’’
Some might raise an eyebrow at the association of Lancaster’s name with the mighty deeds of the Crusaders and Canterbury. They might even say Steve who?
Truth is Lancaster was the architect of the entire operation between 2006 and 2012. As their high performance manager, it was his show.
Player and coach contracting, talent identification, recruitment, medical protocols, logistics, player welfare, performance analysis; Lancaster handled or established the models for them all. Done in a way that was totally unobtrusive, without any desire to see his name or face in the paper.
If you went to training at Canterbury’s Rugby Park headquarters, he’d be there. You just never saw him.
Rugby, and a Canadian wife, took him to Vancouver. Now netball’s bringing him, Jen and their two children home.
‘‘I wasn’t specifically looking for this role, that’s for sure. But we’ve been away two years now and my wife and I have come to the conclusion that New Zealand’s home and we were open to opportunities to come back.
‘‘This one came up and I looked into it and the more I explored it, the more attractive it seemed. It wasn’t actually on my radar, in terms of netball not being the first sport that would come to mind for a guy who’s spent his life in rugby.’’
Albeit one who previously spent two years on the board of the Mainland Tactix trans-Tasman Netball League franchise and has an intimate knowledge of the game’s governance, structures and pathways.
He also knows high performance athletes and how to give them the best chance to succeed. He comes at a good time, too, with the Silver Ferns having endured a poor year and grave concerns in netball circles about the levels of playing and coaching depth.
‘‘There’s certainly a mandate for change and a desire to get better and you can’t start in a better place than that,’’ he said.
Irene van Dyk’s retirement left the Silver Ferns badly exposed at goal shoot, while NNZ chief executive Hilary Poole has said our coaching stocks are such that Australians are likely to be the best candidates for any high-profile jobs in the short to medium term.
You can say what you like about where Canterbury and the Crusaders have plucked young players from over the years, but you can’t criticise their talent spotting or succession planning. Had Lancaster already been ensconced at NNZ, there would hqve been a plan for life after van Dyk.
‘‘The things you’re talking about are systems issues and you don’t get results immediately out of changes in systems,’’ he said.
‘‘In terms of performances, there are things you can do. There’s always low-hanging fruit or things that can be done to address performance initially. But you’re not going to go out and create a new Irene van Dyk in six months.’’
But you can create the strategies. Lancaster will see to that.