Welcome to Boyd - now let NZ take one of ours
CHRIS Boyd’s track-record is impressive enough to suggest that a Northampton resurgence will be on the cards when the New Zealander arrives at Franklin’s Gardens next season.
When Boyd took over as head coach of the Hurricanes in 2014 the man he replaced, former All Black hooker Mark Hammett, said it would take years to turn the culture of the Wellingtonbased franchise around. It took Boyd a few months, and the season before last he led the Hurricanes to the Super Rugby title.
Last summer Boyd was at the helm when the Hurricanes fought back to draw with the Lions, and his previous track record includes coaching New Zealand U20, and Wellington. He also worked with Tonga when they pulled off the shock of the 2011 World Cup by beating France.
That 59-year old Boyd is his own man was highlighted recently when he revealed he has not spoken to New Zealand coach Steve Hansen for three years despite having a host of All Blacks on the Hurricanes roster.
Boyd is unlikely to be fazed by the big international names in the Saints squad having worked with Beauden Barrett, Dane Coles, TJ Perenara, Ma’a Nonu, Julian Savea, Nehe Milner-Skudder and rising stars like Jordie Barrett, Ngani Laumape, Ardie Savea and Vaea Fifita.
My only misgiving about Boyd is that the Premiership – along with the Top 14 and PRO14 – has become the main finishing school for New Zealand coaches without there being any reciprocal arrangement.
The likes of Hansen, Graham Henry, Wayne Smith, Warren Gatland, Mike Schmidt, Vern Cotter and Wayne Pivac have all benefitted from the experience of coaching in the Northern Hemisphere.
By contrast, New Zealand Rugby is reluctant to let any budding Premiership coaches or assistant coaches join Kiwi Super Rugby franchises, or even their Mitre 10 provincial sides, with NZR chief executive Steve Tew making it clear there is only room for homegrown coaches.
The Saints may have got their man in Boyd, but it’s time for leagues like the Premiership and PRO14, to play hardball and limit the Kiwi intake unless there is a fair exchange rather than the current one-way arrangement.