Coaching search just got tougher

The middle ground just moved under New Zealand Rugby with Jamie Joseph’s sudden decision to stick with Japan rather than chase the coveted All Blacks coaching job.

Joseph, and his much soughtafter lieutenant Tony Brown, appealed as real contenders to replace Steve Hansen. They’d enjoyed Super Rugby success and proven innovative and effective at test level with their remarkable achievements with Japan at the recent World Cup.

They were a compelling combination on New Zealand Rugby’s ridiculously long ‘‘shortlist’’ of potential candidates for arguably the toughest job in the country, a good cop-bad cop partnership not afraid to rattle some cages.

Now it’s seemingly a two-man race between Hansen’s able assistant Ian Foster and the energetic and charismatic Scott Robertson.

That’s quite a decision because it’s such a contrast.

The old or the new, the longserving apprentice or the remarkable rookie?

Just as remarkable has been the high-profile candidates who have seemingly taken themselves out of the picture.

Joe Schmidt’s impending sabbatical after huge success with Ireland appears untimely. And Warren Gatland’s decision to stick with the British & Irish Lions makes an immediate All Blacks appointment apparently impossible just when he had everything going for him.

Now there’s Joseph gone as well; a rising coach who didn’t hide his ambitions to coach the All Blacks but will instead concentrate on helping Japan cash in on their World Cup success both on and off the field.

Who knows the reasons behind Joseph suddenly sidestepping New Zealand? Did he have an inkling that he wasn’t going to get the AB gig or did Japan simply put so much money in front of him he couldn’t refuse?

But his absence doesn’t make the decision over the All Blacks position any easier because he would have been a comfortable choice, one that satisfied many in a country where every fan is a selector when it comes to the national rugby team.

This is a massive junction for All Blacks rugby to negotiate on the back of Hansen’s remarkable run in charge.

The winds of change have already started blowing through HQ with long-serving CEO Steve Tew on his way. He and Hansen seemed joined at the hip at times.

New boss Mark Robinson, a young administrator with firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of the All Blacks, has the chance to bring a fresh broom through or opt for the continuity which was the catchcry to the last World Cup disaster way back in 2007.

There’s no doubt Robertson resonates with the now generation of All Blacks and budding test players. But can he take that to the next level? Or is he too radical right now for the often conservative thinking rugby bosses and better suited to an apprenticeship with an assistant’s role to ease him into this cut-throat environment?

There must be some doubts

‘‘To put this All Blacks coaching race down to just two men in [Scott] Robertson and [Ian] Foster is too simplistic.’’

whether Foster can re-energise an All Blacks team that had some creaks to it over the last World Cup cycle.

Losses to Ireland, a previous impossibility, became an increasing reality as were some unexpected hiccups against an often average Wallabies outfit.

The rivalry with South Africa was re-established because in Rassie Erasmus the Springboks found a man to suit their many fabrics and a coach who knew how to utilise their strengths.

Then there was Eddie Jones and England who got within a point of the All Blacks at Twickenham last year and blitzed them when it mattered most this year at the World Cup.

The All Blacks’ inability to answer that English approach the longer it went on might have done more than just singe Foster’s application.

But to put this All Blacks coaching race down to just two men in Robertson and Foster is too simplistic.

It’s likely that it will be the men they surround themselves with that will prove who is ultimately the most compelling.

A coaching team approach will win this All Blacks job. Don’t be surprised to see some of the candidates join forces.

This is now a job too big for just one man.