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Astute recruitment by Vern Cotter lands Fiji one of the most experienced coaching groups south of the equator

By Online Editors
Glen Jackson and Vern Cotter. (Photos by Getty Images)

While Fiji have always been blessed with players of outstanding potential, the upcoming Vern Cotter era could be when the island nation really stake their claim to be a global superpower of the game thanks to an exceptional coaching group.

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Cotter, the most successful Scotland national coach since rugby turned professional, has spent the past three seasons with Montpellier and was named new coach of the Flying Fijians in January this year. His final season in France was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic which has granted the New Zealander ample time to plan for the upcoming contracted international season.

That planning has included recruiting some of the best rugby brains in the business to support the exceptional cattle that Fiji will be able to march out when this year’s internationals finally kick off.

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Cotter will be joined at Fiji by Jason Ryan, Darryl Gibson and former referee Glen Jackson.

Ryan is in his fourth season as forwards coach of the Crusaders and is contracted to the Super Rugby champions until next year. Under his tutelage, the side have secured three championships and are in pole-position to take out the NZ-only Aoteroa competition.

Gibson also tasted plenty of success with the Crusaders, winning four titles as a player during his seven seasons with the team. More recently, Gibson was head coach with the Waratahs until 2019.

Arguably the most unusual recruit is Jackson, a former Chiefs player who was a professional referee for the better part of 10 years, only hanging up his whistle in 2019.

Jackson’s appointment will give the Fijians some direct insight into how the game is currently being refereed – something few teams are lucky enough to have.

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“Jacko has come from the dark side – he’s going to join our coaching group after being a referee for a number of years,” Cotter told the New Zealand Herald. “He’s got a big job in front of him. He’ll also be liaising with referees but mostly he’ll be giving our players an understanding of what referees see. I can’t hold him back he’s so enthusiastic about the whole thing.

Cotter also revealed that he has his sights set on some of the talented Super Rugby Aotearoa stars who are eligible to play for Fiji.

“There’s guys that have shown really good form,” Cotter said. “Alex Hodgman from the Blues has gone really well. [Chiefs loose forward Pita Gus] Sowakula is also playing well.

“There’s some really good players we’d love to be able to access. The guy we’d love to get is Hoskins Sotutu, but I think Ian Foster has probably got his eye on him. If Fozzie doesn’t pick him, he is welcome to come and play for Fiji.”

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Fiji were due to play Australia during the July international window as well as Wales, Georgia and the new All Blacks XV on their end of year tour. All four matches have been cancelled due to the global pandemic, however the island side are on the cusp of joining the Six Nations teams for an end of year tournament. The Pacific Nations Cup has also been pushed back until October.

While Cotter says nothing is confirmed yet, he’s still bemused that his team are due to be grouped with England, Ireland and Wales in the end of year competition.

“The tournament is still not 100 per cent confirmed in November in Europe,” Cotter said. “It changes daily which is only natural because it’s an uncertain landscape. We’ll be delighted to be involved but we’re waiting for the boxes to be ticked.

“I just wonder how we got into the pool with England, Wales and Ireland. Japan, Italy and Scotland are all ranked lower in World Rugby rankings than the teams in ours.”

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

40 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

40 Go to comments
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