As far as announcements of announcements go, NZ Rugby's (NZR) press conference regarding the hiring process for the next All Black coach was a bit more interesting than first thought.
It's probably not what interim CEO Steve Lancaster thought he'd be having to do when he agreed to bridge the gap between Mark Robinson and whoever comes next, but the former Crusader lock was fairly well prepped for the questions that were lobbed at him.
Notably, the announcement that NZR had commenced the search for the new coach made a couple of points up front. First, whoever gets the job will need to have test coaching experience, which is an indirect admission that they got it wrong by overlooking that gap on Scott Robertson's career when he was appointed halfway through 2023.
Scott Robertson. Photo: SANKA VIDANAGAMA
Lancaster pointed to the looming All Black schedule as the main reason why that stipulation had been spelled out.
"We're midway through a World Cup cycle, two years out from the next World Cup, and we simply don't have time for someone to find their way to international rugby," he said.
"We need someone that could hit the ground running and know exactly what we're going into."
It is worth noting that Robertson's success at Super Rugby level, plus the promotion from within of Ian Foster, had made the experience part of the equation somewhat out of sight for most NZ rugby fans. Steve Hansen and Graham Henry's stints with Wales were both over two decades ago now, so the idea of an All Black coach coming in after earning their stripes in the Six Nations feels somewhat antiquated at best.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen shakes hands with Sonny Bill Williams after the win over Georgia Photo: Photosport
Then there was the clear spelling out that the head coach had to be a New Zealander, something that's basically been an unwritten rule till now.
"This is the All Blacks," was Lancaster's forthright answer around the issue.
"As a matter of principle, we want a New Zealander coaching that team. But we're also really fortunate in New Zealand that we have an incredible amount of amazing coaches. So we don't believe at this point in time that we need to go outside of New Zealand candidates."
There is a bit more to that than just patriotism, though. Considering an Englishman or Australian would completely devalue the coaching pathway that exists in New Zealand, which is not just relevant to the All Blacks. It's a pathway that is sought after around the world as much as the one for players is, so to have suddenly reversed would make it difficult to set back in the other direction.
This is just for the head coach, though. There's nothing stopping whoever gets the job from going and asking Shaun Edwards or Ronan O'Gara to come and be an assistant, but that's a conversation for a later date. That's because, like the test experience stipulation, NZR have course corrected themselves by only hiring a head coach at this time after two messy appointments of full staffs.
Scott Robertson Coach and Ronan O'Gara Assistant Coach of the Crusaders. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
So while Robertson is no longer employed by NZ Rugby, Scott Hansen, Jason Ryan and Tamati Ellison very much are. Lancaster said how long they stay that way is up to whoever gets the job though.
"Once we've appointed the head coach, then we'll start discussions with them and we'll make decisions with them about the make up of their coaching and management group."
A cleanout of management would seem unlikely, given that it's taken them until now to simply get their feet under the desk after the long tenure of the previous regime.
In any event, that will be something to be looked at later on.
"For now we're very clear on what the task is. It's in front of us," said Lancaster.
"We need to appoint a head coach and then we will cross those bridges when it comes to them."
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