There’s no place like home for top coaches
has appointed Australian Julie Fitzgerald as its 2014 coach. It’s hardly a vote of confidence in Kiwi coaches.
In sports where New Zealand doesn’t have the expertise – basketball and perhaps hockey – I can understand a foreign coach being appointed.
Andrej Lemanis was superb with the Breakers basketball side, and Australians Mark Hager and Colin Batch are coaching the New Zealand men’s and women’s hockey teams without too much blowback.
It could be argued that New Zealand doesn’t have much football expertise, but it’s been nice having a New Zealand coach in Ricki Herbert, rather than yet another with an English accent. And the team has responded well to Herbert.
The foreign experiment hasn’t worked consistently well in rugby league. Australian Ivan Cleary was outstanding with the Warriors, but have overseas coaches John Monie, Daniel Anderson and Matthew Elliott been any better than their New Zealand equivalents? It’s debatable.
There’s no problem when a coach heads to a minnow sports nation, including the Netherlands or maybe Bangladesh in cricket, and Croatia or Japan in rugby.
But once you get among the big time, the wheels can fall off.
Did Graham Henry look more assured coaching Wales and the Lions, or the All Blacks? Did Steve Hansen, Laurie Mains, John Mitchell and Todd Blackadder look more comfortable coaching at home or away?
When it comes to international sports coaches, I still say there’s no place like home.