Should New Zealand change coach? The obvious opinion of Steve Hansen
The fifteenth world kicked off Grand Slam, competition with Leo Cooley, World Cup 2023 …
In a very short period of time, we’ve seen two major rugby nations, qualify for the World Cup, change coaches. England thanked Eddie Jones for appointing Steve Borthwick in his place, and Wales called up Warren Gatland in place of Wayne Pivac. For these two countries, we will have to rebuild everything less than a year after the World Cup, and after a very disappointing 2022.
There is another country that has had a complicated fiscal year 2022: New Zealand. The All Blacks seem to have lost their former glory and their dominance in world rugby is no longer indisputable. The proof of this ‘slump’: the very poor July tour against Ireland.
Ian Foster, the current coach of the All Blacks, has often been in the ejection seat in recent months. Many believed that he should be removed from his post, in favor of, for example, Scott Robertson, the Crusaders coach, who is doing great things with the Canterbury team.
But one voice, and not just any, spoke out against a coach change before the World Cup: For Steve Hansen, the symbolic former Blacks coach, such a change would be a huge mistake, as he confided to things. He asks the federation not to imitate England or Wales, as the effects of such a disruption could be complex. It is necessary, until the World Cup, to look back, and see what options will emerge after that. But it is important not to lose energy and focus in promoting a new person at the helm of the All Blacks.
I think they (at the New Zealand FA, editor’s note) should be well aware of the impact of hiring a new coach before the World Cup.
There is no need for this distraction. We don’t want someone distracted – as that would be the case if a new coach is appointed – and an enthusiast who will start discussing completely unimportant things before the World Cup.
(…) We’ll just have to go through this bad period. And the person they have to work with through that is outgoing coach Ian Foster.
This is an opinion that deserves to be clear. Will the union follow him?
To summarize
Several countries thanked their coaches less than a year after the next World Cup. Should New Zealand do the same for Ian Foster? Former All Blacks manager Steve Hansen has a very clear opinion on the matter.
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