Much-travelled Kiwi is on a mission to take Scarlets into bright future
WHEN the Scarlets next step on to the field, the man in charge will be Glenn Delaney.
The 46-year-old father-of-four is taking over as head coach from fellow Kiwi Brad Mooar, who is heading home this weekend to join the All Blacks set-up.
So just who is Delaney and what are his plans for the team, now he has stepped up from his defensive brief to the top job?
We caught up with him and discovered someone with a fascinating back story and a real passion for the game of rugby.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your background in New Zealand? A:
Well, I was born in a place called Timaru, which is in south Canterbury.
My dad was a copper. He was in the police and mum was off a farm.
Then we had a weird incident in 1979 where we got fire-bombed by some local ‘crims’ that took umbrage at something that was going on and we ended up moving up to Christchurch, which is where dad is originally from. I was only five at the time. It was a bit bizarre really.
So, anyway, I’m from a police family originally and that’s how I first came across Steve Hansen, who was a young copper in Christchurch. I’ve come to know him well from my time as a player and a coach over the years.
I remember him as a pretty dynamic coach when he was first cutting his teeth in his club rugby days and there was certainly something going on. Then he went into the Canterbury setup pretty early on and off he went.
He is a master communicator which is probably a lot to do with his time in the police force. He certainly knows how to get the best out of people.
I have kept in touch with him right from the off and he has been fabulous for my rugby education, along with guys like Wayne Smith and Mike Cron. If I ever had anything on my mind, I could ask them and they are so willing and free with their advice.
Q: How did you start out as a player? A:
I was at a school called St Andrews College in Christchurch and I came through the Canterbury age grade system and played club rugby for Linwood.
I was a wannabee fly-half, but I was pigeon-holed into the lock department, probably because of a lack of pace!
I was a basketball player as well, so I could jump. Basketball gave me a really good foundation and helped me with me with lineout play. I thought I was tall enough at 6ft 6ins but that’s small compared to some guys, so I had to jump.
Q: You spent most of your playing career overseas. How did that come about? A:
I first came to the UK when I was 18 on a scholarship to play at Leicester for a season. Then I went to Japan for three and a half years and back to Christchurch for a season in 1997.
An opportunity came up then to go back to the UK and do it as a job, so I took the offer to go to Nottingham.
My wife, Claire, is English, so I had full ability to get in.
I found myself in the UK and haven’t really looked back. I have
All Blacks coaching legend Steve Hansen, another coach with big police connections who Glenn Delaney counts as a good friend. spent probably more time here than anywhere.
It was part-time rugby at Nottingham, so I thought I needed to get some skills behind me.
So I worked in recruitment for three years and met some great people and learned a lot about myself and how business works and that gave me the confidence to go into full-time rugby.
After two years at Nottingham and a year at Coventry, I went to London Irish when I was 26 and did three years there.
We had a really good team. Brendan Venter came over and was wonderfully innovative and creative as a coach. We ended up winning the Powergen Cup and I really enjoyed being part of it all.
Then went to France to play for Narbonne, but I ended up getting injured. I lasted one year and was broken at the age of 30. That was me playingwise with a fused ankle. A lot of people were kind enough to say they hadn’t noticed, as I hadn’t got any slower than I was!
Having played professionally for about 11 years I was pretty happy with the innings. The game had looked after me and shown me the world. It led me to meeting my wife in Japan and gave me a lot.
Q: You went pretty much straight from playing into coaching? Was that always an ambition? A:
I had originally started off teachertraining in New Zealand because I was going to be a PE teacher, so going into coaching was the natural fit.
I love the game, always have. I’m passionate about it and will watch a game of rugby for fun rather than for a job.
Nottingham offered me the chance to come back and coach and I was straight in at 31. I didn’t really get a chance to take a breath, but I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
I ended up taking over the Director of Rugby job and was there for eight years. Nottingham in those days was a part-time club, so I finished playing and went back into recruitment. I was working and then training Tuesday and Thursday nights at the club and
Saturday at the game. That was the routine.
It’s a tough job when you are coaching in the evenings and holding down a job in the day. You have got to be pretty keen and enthusiastic and I certainly was. I didn’t want to walk away from the game. It was too much fun.
After Nottingham, I had four years with London Irish, then went back to New Zealand. I was at Canterbury for a year, then Highlanders for two.
Q: You were linked with the Cardiff Blues job back in 2015. Was that ever on the cards? A:
It was reported at the time, but I knew Danny Wilson was going to get the job. I know him very well, since his days at London Welsh, and he went in and did a good job. While it’s nice to get mentioned in dispatches, I think Cardiff already had their man sorted out and it proved to be a really good appointment.
Q: So how did the move to the Scarlets come about? A:
It was the December of 2018 that Brad was announced as taking over from Wayne Pivac. I was up in Christchurch and was due to head back to the UK for Christmas.
I was basically commuting to New Zealand from London.
Brad and I go back a long way. I knew him from school days in Christchurch and we played against each other at club level in Christchurch. Then when I was coaching at Canterbury he was at the Crusaders. He sees the game positively, he’s optimistic. He’s got tons of energy and tons of personality. Scarlets supporters have seen that.
Anyway, he asked me for a coffee and sounded me out about the job. My three years in New Zealand were coming to a conclusion and I was pretty keen to get back to the UK. The family was still based here, so I said yes.
Brad’s philosophy and mine are fairly similar and I think that’s the key. When you work with someone, you have to work with the person first and that’s been the great joy over the last 12 months, working together with him. Now he’s gone and bloody left me! But for good reasons. As a New Zealander, it’s a bit of a no-brainer when you get the chance to take up a job with the All Blacks. You can’t begrudge anyone for wanting to coach their country. It’s one of the greatest honours you can get in the game and he has earned that. He has done a great job where he has been.
All of a sudden, the Scarlets were looking for a new head coach. I was asked if I was interested and I was. It’s a really enjoyable place to be and there’s a lot more growth to come, so I thought it would be a great opportunity.
Before I said I’d love to do it, I had a chat with the staff and canvassed a couple of players just to see whether they would support that because there’s not much use in going for a job