Crusaders' coaching job well overdue for red-and-black man Penney

In the interests of full disclosure, I used to ghost a column for Rob Penney.

He was Canterbury coach at the time and eager to raise his profile.

The paper I worked for was publishing a weekly column from then-Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder and Penney argued he was entitled to similar.

I mention that for two reasons: First, to declare I’m probably a little bit pro-Penney. And second, because it illustrates how there has often been a little bit of rivalry inside the red-and-black rugby family.

Truth be told, Penney will think his appointment as the next Crusaders coach is long overdue.

The days of the column I wrote for him were around 2009 and 2010, when Tabai Matson was his main assistant at Canterbury and Scott Robertson had just come on as a skills coach.

Even then, Robertson was regarded as a bit left field. His main role in those days was to take reluctant Canterbury tacklers off to the sandpit at their Rugby Park training premises for a robust one-on-one session.

If you coached the Crusaders in those days, then you tended to look a little suspiciously at your Canterbury counterparts. And, if you coached Canterbury, then you appeared to feel aggrieved about your place in the pecking order.

As much as players pushed for higher owners within the broader organisation, so too did the coaches.

It created real coaching rivalries and fierce competition for the plum jobs.

Excellence was the expectation and coaches knew they were only ever one disappointing season away from the sack.

Now Penney’s time has come.

I have to say, it’s an intriguing appointment and one in which the addition of Matt Todd as an assistant looms as an important one for Penney.

I like Penney. He was good to me, even if I confused him sometimes.

I remember him congratulating me warmly on the birth of my son, George.

“Good name, strong name,’’ Penney said.

I told him that I’d heard every Cantabrian’s civic duty was to name their first-born son after the incumbent Canterbury captain. Given that was then George Whitelock,
I said had no alternative.

I’m not sure he ever worked out whether I was taking the mickey or not.

Penney likes to win. He can be demanding of players and very definite in his views.

What success he’s had as a coach largely dates back to that era and it will be interesting to see how his methods are embraced by players of the modern day.

Something he always did well, though, was identify assistants with softer sides and the ability to relate well to the group. That’s where Todd, who first made his name during Penney’s tenure as Canterbury coach, is an astute hire.

I have always admired the way Canterbury and the Crusaders remain true to their values.

There’s an acute awareness of what red-and-black rugby is all about. Not every player or every coach will be the best of mates but, whatever the internal politics, they genuinely put the organisation and the jersey first.

Continuity of culture is key and most appointments reflect that.

This Crusaders role is one Penney has always coveted, but he is a long time removed from the environment and even rugby in New Zealand, for that matter.

I’ll be fascinated to see how he fits back in.