Jason Holland reveals what’s caught his eye about the Blues

Just under five months ago, Hurricanes assistant and newly named Blues head coach Jason Holland was in the coaching box with the All Blacks in what would be Scott Robertson’s final game as head coach of the national side.

Now, Holland is the Hurricanes attack coach under Clark Laidlaw, after spending the past two years as an All Blacks assistant, largely looking after the strike plays.

The future of the 53-year-old beyond this season was confirmed this week, signing a deal with the Blues from the start of the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season, succeeding Vern Cotter, who recently announced a deal with the Queensland Reds from next year.

Holland could have continued with the Hurricanes, but when the opportunity came up in Auckland, the former All Blacks assistant didn’t hesitate to make the move.

Explaining how the move came about on Newstalk ZB’s Weekend Sport, Holland said the discussions with the Auckland-based franchise have been promising.

“The Blues is a club stacked with history over the last 30 years. Actually, ironically, I was at the Hurricanes Blues game 30 years ago, so I’ve just remembered that over the last 24 hours,” Holland told Jason Pine.

“But any conversations I’ve had with the people in the Blues, there’s a clear potential to continue to build on the great stuff that’s been going on.”

The 53-year-old said that the opportunity is exciting, and that he sees some positive signs already, six months before he fully takes charge of the Blues.

“I see so much potential with the people there, with the players, with the management.

“Then the opportunity there to try and play some footy and win some games, and excite the people around the Auckland region and then the Northland region, is pretty exciting for me.

“So obviously, it’s six months away before, I fully invest myself in that, but it’s a pretty good opportunity.”

When Holland’s sudden departure from the All Blacks was announced during 2025, there were discussions about whether he would return to a head coaching job, or continue his track as an assistant at the international level.

“Yeah, I think I definitely wanted to be a head coach at some stage, like I enjoy the attack role, and you learn things along the way, don’t you, and you pick up little things, and you understand more and more around people and how you get the best out of people.

“And so as I sort of really dug deep over the last three to four months, figuring out exactly what I want to do, it’s clear that helping people be the best they can is a massive part of what I do.

“I still want to be fully invested in the attack side of the game and how you play the game, but also I’m pretty excited about trying to help other people be the best, and I see that a big part of being a head coach.”

Holland admits that the Blues’ confrontational forward-based game plan is effective under Cotter, and says he won’t be looking to adjust the style much.

“Oh, I saw Vern’s style last night, how they were dominant to get up over, over the Waratahs up front. Obviously, it’s a massive part of the game, and we’ll be looking to build on all the great stuff that they’re doing at the moment.

“I still like how we saw the second half last night, the Blues spreading the ball wide with the ball in Clarke’s hands and those sorts of things, which got them the bonus point in the end.

“So no not massive tweaks to what’s been doing. I want to make sure that the good work that Vern’s installed around how that packs going, set piece, the dominance with the physicality is still big part of how the Blues play.

“I’ve just got a real drive to make sure the skill sets and to make sure you can play both ways. You can be nice and direct, but you can also play the width when the time is there.

“So yeah just hoping to build on all the great things that the Blues have been doing over the last couple of years.”