Put an Aussie in charge
FRANK ENDACOTT ON HOW TO FIX THE KIWIS:
Frank Endacott says it is time for the Kiwis to appoint an Australian coach but he has urged the New Zealand Rugby League to develop a pathway for domestic coaches.
The former Warriors and Wigan mentor, who coached the Kiwis from 1995 to 2000, said while he would always support New Zealand coaches, the NZRL should now consider giving the job to a proven NRL coach.
‘‘There’s some pretty good Australian coaches out of a job at the moment.
‘‘Des Hasler [the former Manly and Bulldogs] coach and Mick Maguire [who coached South Sydney to the 2014 NRL title] would be ideal.
‘‘Then you could have Kiwi coaches working under them, who’d learn a lot which would help them in the future.’’
Endacott said he had got the Kiwis job in 1995 after coaching Canterbury ‘‘in a tough domestic competition for five years’’, taking the New Zealand Residents on a five-match Australian tour, the New Zealand Colts and the Junior Kiwis for two seasons, including a British tour.
‘‘I was also assistant coach at the Warriors when I was appointed [to the Kiwis].
Brian (Bluey) McClennan, who coached the Kiwis to a Tri-Nations tournament title in 2005, came through the same system.
He said New Zealand for many years had a ‘‘pecking order’’ of about 10 top domestic coaches, who accepted they would get an opportunity ‘‘when the guy above them retired or moved on’’.
But Endacott said the coaching development pathway reached a dead end a decade ago when Gary Kemble was sacked in 2007 after just one season in charge.
‘‘Gary was unlucky. I thought he was ready for the job, but he got given the most inexperienced Kiwis team to take on a tour to England.
‘‘They didn’t do well and when they got back Roy Asotasi and David Kidwell led the charge to get him sacked.’’
Kemble and his assistant-coach Phil Prescott, from Christchurch, lost their jobs, which Endacott said was an example of short-term thinking by the NZRL.
‘‘Phil Prescott came through the system too and he was capable of coaching the Kiwis, given time. But that was the end of the local coaches coming through.
‘‘You’ve got to give them time to prove themselves and put them in situations where they can get experience.’’
Endacott said the NZRL needed to identify potential coaches and say: ‘‘We’ll put five years into you’’.
It would be ideal if they could align with the Warriors and get more New Zealand coaches involved in the NRL system.
Too often the Warriors had turned to overseas assistant coaches, including England’s Steve McNamara and Australia’s
‘‘Then you could have Kiwi coaches working under them, who’d learn a lot.’’
Frank Endacott, right, on the benefits of an Australian coaching the Kiwis