Smith hopes his two per cent will make a difference to ABs
‘Counter-attack is big for the All Blacks and strategically it’s an area that really motivates me.’
The answers to today’s crossword are available on
website: dompost.co.nz/crossword WAYNE SMITH wants to help deliver the 20 per cent lift in the All Blacks for next year’s Rugby World Cup that head coach Steve Hansen says is needed to retain the Webb Ellis Cup.
Smith was yesterday confirmed by New Zealand Rugby as rejoining the All Blacks coaching panel for 2015 as a specialist defence coach, stepping down from his fulltime involvement with the Chiefs for whom he has just completed a week-long coaching commitment in Japan with partners Kobe Steelers.
He was last part of the panel when the All Blacks won the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand and will now return for his third coaching stint at a world cup and his fourth official visit to a world cup if his work as a video analyst for the team in 1999 is taken into account.
The aim of the All Blacks is to become the first team to win back-to-back world titles and Hansen has gone on record this year as saying they need a 20 per cent improvement in 2015 to do that, despite a dominant 2014.
‘‘That’s the way it’s got to be because the Rugby World Cup is a unique beast,’’ Smith said yesterday.
‘‘Teams that you can beat routinely through the previous three years, when they march behind a flag at world cups they become very difficult to beat.
‘‘But I think the attitude’s right so if everyone in that management team gets a couple of per cent lift in their area then that should make the ABs pretty tough to beat.’’
Smith said he had sought out All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw and other senior test players to confirm whether they felt he could add value to next year’s campaign.
‘‘You want to know whether you can maybe add a wee bit of value and make a bit of a difference because if you can’t there’s not much point in doing it.’’
Smith said his role would be more than just defence.
‘‘It’s defence and turning defence into attack. It’s working with Fozzie [assistant coach Ian Foster] on that transition from defence into attack.
‘‘Counter-attack is a big attacking area – 45 per cent of tries are scored from the other team’s ball, it is big for the All Blacks and strategically it’s an area that really motivates me.’’
After three years in the Chiefs’ coaching team, Smith said it would be difficult to leave the franchise even though he would retain an office at their Ruakura headquarters and, when not visiting other Kiwi franchises, would still do hands-on coaching with them and their development team one day a week to keep his hand in.
‘‘For three years it’s been a big part of my life and my family’s life. Twelve people come from Putaruru every home game and we put them up, it’s been a routine every second weekend, and I love the guys here, love the environment we’ve created in this place.
‘‘By necessity I’ll only have a
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Wayne Smith small part to play here but I’ll still have a part to play, there will still be opportunities for guys to come around for a meal at home and have a chat if they want to and I’ll get a wee bit of coaching on the track as well.’’
Smith refuses to look beyond 2015 but won’t rule out a return to the Chiefs after that or even extending his time with the All Blacks.
‘‘I’ve been through this before and I know what it takes and my family knows what it takes – it consumes your life and I’ve got to get myself in that frame of mind again for 2015,’’ he said.
Smith has been through a tumultuous time since the end of this year’s Super Rugby season with his Putaruru-based father dying after an illness.
But he has also had a hand in investing in the Chiefs’ 2015 season, taking a full part in a comprehensive and at times ‘‘brutal’’ review of a disappointing 2014 that saw the back-toback champions beaten in the quarterfinals.
‘‘We only just got tipped over in that quarterfinal but it was nowhere near expectations for us so we had a month of management meetings, looking at what we had to do better.’’
So does Smith think rewards next season?
‘‘I think they’ll have a good year next year based on that work and the attitude that this year just wasn’t good enough.’’
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