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Today, in his column for The Australian, shock jock Alan Jones hit out at a number of top Kiwi sports administrators and coaches, questioning why they were filling jobs in Australia that Australians could “do better”.
“I must begin this week where I ended last week, in a state of disbelief,” Jones said. “I mentioned then, hoping I was wrong, that the Kiwi CEO running NSW Rugby was going to replace the existing Kiwi Waratahs coach with another Kiwi.
“Let’s be blunt, the NSW CEO, Andrew Hore, is a very average Kiwi administrator.
“These people are not working in New Zealand because they are not good enough. Yet now, it’s widely accepted that a Kiwi, Rob Penney, will coach the Waratahs and Dave Rennie, another Kiwi, will coach the Wallabies in 2020. They most probably can’t believe their luck.
“Penney is an average Kiwi coach who can’t get a job in New Zealand. I suppose being a Kiwi coach is not the end of the world, but they are not world-class.
“Do we interview these people? Who does the interviewing, if there is any?
“We certainly don’t interview people like David Campese, the Bradman of rugby, yet now we look like being lumped with this.
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“Dave Rennie was at the Waikato Chiefs and enjoyed success when Wayne Smith was there.
“My New Zealand friends tell me Waikato’s success owed more to master coach Smith than it did to Rennie.
“That makes sense. Wherever Wayne Smith goes, he is successful. Without Wayne Smith, Dave Rennie has won nothing.
“Then there’s Rob Penney. He has had no success at Super Rugby level; in fact, he has never coached at that level. He had success in the relatively obscure Mitre 10 Cup, in New Zealand, about 10 years ago, when he coached with Scott Robertson. Since then, he has
had average success in Ireland and Japan.
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“Who interviewed these people and against what criteria were they evaluated?
“Rob Penney has no business coaching the Waratahs. He is an average Kiwi coach replacing an average Kiwi coach in Daryl Gibson.
“This is madness.
“What must the Sydney and Brisbane grand final winning coaches be thinking?
“If Penney and Rennie are world-class, then there is no issue. But they are not.
“And that is a big rugby issue. It is clear that we have no coherent coach development plan and haven’t for ages, and now we are being bitten in the backside.
“For goodness sake, if we are going to take a chance, take a chance with an Australian coach.”
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and is republished with permission.
Comments on RugbyPass
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
1 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
4 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
4 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
4 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
7 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to comments