Where are all the good coaches? Somewhere else
Columnist By Andrew Logan, 21 Apr 2009 Andrew Logan is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- Andy Friend, Brumbies, Rugby Union, Super Rugby
NSW Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
Any CEO will tell you that a major risk factor for an organization or industry is the loss of talent. Talent costs money to find and develop, and if you lose it, you not only lose the original investment, but also the knowledge and experience.
It’s a concept that Australian rugby is finding out about the hard way with the standard of coaching in the Super 14.
If you were to rank the provinces by coaching experience, you’d have the Force first with former All Blacks mentor John Mitchell, the only senior national coach of the four.
Next would be the Brumbies, led by Andy Friend, who has three years as head coach with English club Harlequins as well as stints as an assistant with the Brumbies and Waratahs under his belt.
The Waratahs would probably be third, coached by successful club and age-group coach, but first-time pro, Chris Hickey.
And last would be the Reds, with Phil Mooney, whose career consists almost entirely of U/19’s and Academy appointments, less his one year as Reds backs coach under Jeff Miller in 2004, and his first year as Reds coach in 2008.
Looking forward to the end of the regular Super 14 rounds, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the teams finish up exactly this way.
Although the Waratahs lead the pack (one spot in front of the Brumbies), they have played 10 games to the Force and the Brumbies 9.
They also have yet to tour South Africa, whereas the Brumbies have done their trip, and the Force have the lowly Lions and the Highlanders at Subiaco to bookend their South Africa tour. The remaining games don’t matter for the Reds will easily be last out of the four Australian sides anyway.
The most likely two best sides are coached by a New Zealander and a returning Australian respectively.
The most likely two worst are coached homegrown talent with limited professional experience.
What this indicates is that unless we can find a way to develop and retain Australian coaching talent, and bring some back from overseas, Australian rugby will suffer tremendously in coming years.
The number of highly experienced, professional, Australian coaches plying their trade overseas is staggering.
Successful Waratahs and Bulls backs coach Todd Louden is coaching Ricoh in Japan after being royally screwed by the Waratahs rugby committee last year. Ricoh won the Top League Challenge and are now back in the Japanese premier competition after scoring 135 points in two matches against the other challengers for the Top League spot.
Aussies Tony McGahan and Laurie Fisher are extremely successful at Munster, leading both the Magners League and the Europe-wide Heineken Cup.
They will come up against another Aussie pairing on May 2 when Munster clash with Leinster in what will be a massive match at Croke Park in the Heineken Cup semi final. Michael Cheika and Alan Gaffney are leading the Leinster lads, and in addition to their Heineken Cup success, they are third in the Magners league.
Queenslander Steve Meehan has been coaching Bath since 2006, but cut his European teeth at Stade Francais as a skills and backs coach under Nick Mallett and then Fabien Galthie. During this time, Stade reached the final of the French Championship three years running.
Meehan’s forwards coach is former Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) coach Mark Bakewell, who took over at Bath from Michael Foley, and who has also spent time with Brive and Beziers in France.
Under Meehan and Bakewell, Bath are currently fifth in the Guinness Premiership and won their Heineken Cup pool.
Former Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie is coaching a Stade Francais side which includes Mark Gasnier and is running fourth in the French Top 14.
Saracens had former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones in charge until recently. Jones has now returned to Suntory in Japan. His Saracens offsider Richard Graham, a former Australian Sevens captain, is one of the few to return to Australia, having just joined Robbie Deans in the national setup as Skills Coach for the Wallabies.
Speaking of Sevens, former Sydney University, Melbourne Rebels and Australia Sevens coach Bill Millard is now Backs Coach at Cardiff. Cardiff have booked themselves into a Heineken Cup semi-final against Leicester Tigers this week, and recently put 50 points on Gloucester to outclass them and win the EDF Energy Cup.
Consider the following comments from former England international Paul Ackford after Cardiff’s drubbing of Gloucester:
“Most teams would have been happy enough just with the work of their forwards on Saturday. Not Cardiff. Their backs were almost as good. They were inventive, gutsy, pacey and threatened on almost each occasion they had the ball which was often.
“It was a pleasure watching them operate at Twickenham. They were direct, forceful and imaginative. More importantly, they showed in a season where some of the big games have been dire, that important rugby occasions can still be marvellously entertaining.”
Try to remember the last time that the Waratahs were described as being “inventive, gutsy, pacey” or the last time they “threatened on almost each occasion they had the ball.”
It has to be sometime in the 1990’s, and yet Millard didn’t even get a phone call when the Waratahs job became vacant.
Millard’s Cardiff side confronts Leicester Tigers in their Heineken Cup semi next week, and he will be pitting his backs coaching nous against the “sumo with the silky skills”, former Wallaby centre and Brumbies backs coach Matt O’Connor.
So what’s the point?
That most of our best coaches are developing their talent overseas, along with the talent of Irish, English and French players.
And, by contrast, our two biggest provinces struggle to create a try, or hold a ball. Not to mention the fact that the Force and the Wallabies are both coached by Kiwis.
Who’d be a rugby coach in Australia?
Recommend this story.
- Explore:
- Andy Friend, Brumbies, Rugby Union, Super Rugby
April 21st 2009 @ 10:23am
Andrew Logan said | April 21st 2009 @ 10:23am | Report comment
All…
I agree that coaching gigs are thin on the ground in Australia, so of course, Aussies need to go overseas, but my main point is captured well by MikeN with his comments about Foley. Professional experience obviously counts.
I don’t think I am being harsh on Hickey or Mooney. The skill level of both teams is clearly very poor, and the option taking is also ordinary. I disagree that a pro coach should get a season grace before they have to start producing results. The Wallabies made good progress from a low low base in their first season under Robbie Deans by concentrating on the basics. Why not the Waratahs who made the final last year?
That is a coaches job, to get a side to perform. Surely that counts from day 1…..not just after they’ve had 6 months to settle in.
April 21st 2009 @ 11:37am
ballboy said | April 21st 2009 @ 11:37am | Report comment
Knives Out I think you’re being a little harsh on Friend. Brumbies have won as many game as any other team this season. They are 7th because of thier lack of bonus points and two teams above them have played an extra game. Thier bonus points issue can be seen as a concern but also a strength. Three times this year they have had come from behind wins in the final 3 minutes. That, to me, shows a team that is very well coached and has plans in place to get over the line when it’s tight. Name another team in the comp you would want to be leading by 4 going into the last three minutes?
Secondly, Friend had three years with Suntory picking them up just after they had been dropped down to 2nd division and within a year brought them back to premier division and won the comp the following year.
He had the same success with Quins alongside Dean Richards. While Quins are still enjoying success some credit must go to the bloke who put them on the right path.
I feel Hickey needs to be lgiven some space by everyone. I can’t help but feel the power brokers in NSWRU are pulling some strings and not allowing him have free reign over his charges. Three weeks ago they were running second but the constant microscope on th etam from the press and public has started to take it’s toll as their confidence in what they are doing is ra[idly dropping.
The efforts of the Aussie teams this year also must be put into perspective. We are at a new phase of our rugby with a lot of young guns who, in time will hopefully mature on the international stage. We went through the ame thing in the late 80′s and again find ourselves in a situation of more young blood holding ranks than the old hardened players. I don’t have the time to do this but it would be interesting to know the average age of our playersin both S14 and Test team over the last 15 years. Anyone have a spare 3 hours on their hands?
April 21st 2009 @ 12:57pm
cookie said | April 21st 2009 @ 12:57pm | Report comment
Rugby is supposed to be a world game and the experience gained by playing or coaching overseas is invaluable.
Australia should be harnessing this by encouraging australians to play or coach there and having foreign players and coaches plying their trade here.
A prime reason is not so much the lack of professional opportunities here is the comparative $ available overseas. I mean how much does a Sydney 1st grade coach get paid?
It’s a very different setup over there and i wouldn’t mind if they mimicked the comp set up here but we simply don’t have the supporter numbers due to being spread too thinly with to many other sports with a tiny population comparatively…Christ London literally has a bigger population than the entire of Australia.
April 21st 2009 @ 1:00pm
LeftArmSpinner said | April 21st 2009 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
Andrew, lets not confuse quantity and quality. A coach whose team finishes 3 or 4, would not be good enough for NSW. Biggest city, following, facilities and expectations. gotta win super rugby………………
April 21st 2009 @ 1:08pm
Jim Boyce said | April 21st 2009 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
Andrew – While the coach/ manager( Soccer) is important, I think you are missing two other vital pieces in the equation viz. Captain( preferably a forward eg McCaw) and the backline general. Where Dean was successful with the Crusaders was that he developed both, in the shape of McCaw and Carter. In the discussion of the various attributes of Australian coachs that seems to be missing. Rugby is in danger of adopting a Soccer viewpoint in that there is a concentration on Hiddink, Ferguson, Wenger, Verbeek etc. Rugby is a different game in its physicality and , I would submit, reqires a greater on-field presence. I dont think Deans ever replaced McCaw and there was a similar situation with Martin Johnson and John Smit. Mitchell seems to have been the only Australian Super 14 coach that has folowed this path with Sharpe and Gitteau. The last decade in Australian coachs has been a sorry tale in this respect. Interested in your views.
April 21st 2009 @ 1:14pm
Andrew Logan said | April 21st 2009 @ 1:14pm | Report comment
LAS – true enough, although be careful not to lumber a coach coming 3rd/4th with the shortcomings that his squad may have. His team might come 8th under a worse coach.(Hickey, by the way, does not have this excuse!)
However the sheer weight of professional experience overseas, vs the amount of professional experience in charge of the two major Australian provinces is an imbalance that needs addressing.
This years Super 14 is the most “winnable” for years. I agree with Todd Louden in his article today….that the 2009 Waratahs should win this year’s title given their 2008 form and the personnel they have. They won’t even go close i don’t think, especially after their SA tour, and after the game they have in hand is balanced out.
April 21st 2009 @ 2:13pm
Greg Russell said | April 21st 2009 @ 2:13pm | Report comment
Thanks to Andrew for a superb analysis and to the many who have made insightful, informative comments.
The only new angle I would like to add is that one shouldn’t forget that it’s not just Australian rugby that loses coaching talent overseas – we need to remember that South Africa and New Zealand also do not have a lot of their best coaches at home.
For example, Todd Louden’s article today reminds us that Heyneke Meyer, arguably South Africa’s best rugby coach, has been plying his trade overseas (although currently he is on extended compassionate leave back in South Africa).
Jake White, another superb South African coach, was made person non grata by his own union.
Arguably New Zealand’s best coach is in charge of the Wallabies. At least two other national teams are coached by Kiwis, viz. Wales (Warren Gatland) and Japan (John Kirwan).
Many club/franchise teams around the world are coached by Kiwis, for example John Mitchell, Vern Cotter (who has taken Clermont to the top of French rugby, and who Robbie Deans wanted as his assistant at the All Blacks) and Tana Umaga at Toulon (to give an example of a failed Kiwi coach!).
I have no idea if Australia exports more coaches than its SANZAR partners, but I guess its hard to imagine even NZ topping Lindommer’s long list of overseas Aussie coaches.
I am not even sure if the focus should be on lack of “third-tier” opportunities for Australian rugby coaches. After all, if other countries are prepared to pay for development of Australian coaches, is that really a problem?
Rather, as Andrew implies, the problem is that these coaches do not make it back to Australian rugby when high-level openings arise. Were inexperienced coaches like Hickey and Mooney appointed because Qld and NSW were not prepared to scout overseas, or were they appointed because even the Qld and NSW coaching positions do not offer salaries that are competitive with corresponding positions overseas?
If the former, then no comment is necessary. If the latter, then probably Australian S14 franchises just have to bite the bullet and start offering salaries that will lure home the best Australian coaches. I am sure that something like $400-500k would do it. Is that really too much to pay?
April 21st 2009 @ 3:33pm
Andrew Logan said | April 21st 2009 @ 3:33pm | Report comment
Good point Greg on the salary question. If it means the difference between getting a home semi (roughly an extra $1.5M in revenue if memory serves me, but Yikes will be able to confirm this), and not getting to the semis at all…..I would have thought an extra 200-300k per year would be a good bet.
Todd Louden is reported to be getting around 600k per year from Ricoh, so somewhere in that vicinity, plus the benefits of being near family and friends in Australia, would be enough. Many other coaches who don’t yet have a head coach role, it would be more like 2/3 of that number I’d be guessing.
Jim Boyce – couldn’t agree more with your captain/backline general idea….and I would argue that the Waratahs have Waugh and Halangahu in that regard, both of whom have credentials in this regard. I don’t think it is an excuse for the Waratahs, but it may be for the Reds. The Brumbies obviously are spoilt in this regard – Mortlock, Smith AND Hoiles!
Cheers…
April 21st 2009 @ 5:04pm
Andrew Logan said | April 21st 2009 @ 5:04pm | Report comment
Ahem…..clearly I was a little distracted when writing the above. I will avoid the use of “in this regard” in future!
April 21st 2009 @ 7:38pm
SeemsStrange said | April 21st 2009 @ 7:38pm | Report comment
All the coaches have gone due to the fact that Australia, unlike the kiwis does not have a centralised contracting or elite development system. IN NZ, all province head coaches, assistant coaches as well as National team age group coaches are contracted to NZ rugby, so they can place or make decisions on coaches and have in place a system which identifies coaching talent, provides opportunities for professional development and ultimately provides a clear pathway for professsional coaches. It seems strange to me that In Australia, to be a professional coach is to operate in complete professional isolation -a coaches best friends are the Board and CEO of the union and it is these poeple who decide the coaches fate. There is no all powerful “coaches association” which mirrors RUPA, meaning no-one goes into bat for the coach, the coach receives next to nothing in the collective bargaining agreement – minimum contracts, gate royalties in finals etc.. etc.. The ARU makes one off appointments to representative teams and has no say in provincial appointments. Take the Wallabies staff the last few years. Coaches from overseas – John Connolly – Head Coach, Scott Johnson -Assistant coach, Michael Foley – Assistant Coach. The Robbie Deans took over as Head Coach, Jim Williams – Assistant Coach, Richard Graham – Skills Coach. David Nucifora was brought back from NZ as High Performance Manager. That’s the last 6 Wallaby coaches and assistants plus a High performance Manager at Wallaby level recruited from overseas. Throw in the current Wallabies conditioner, Peter harding – who was recruited from a league background. Add to this that the National U20 team going to the world cup this yeasr is being coached by Nucifoa (not currently coaching, in admin role), assistant coach Anthony Eddy (not currently coaching, admin role with ARU) and managed by Ray McNicol (not currently managing a team, admin role). The National sevens team is being coached by Michael O’Connor , who to my knowledge has not been coaching either for some time, or not at an elite level. These U20′s and sevens appointments of largely ARU admin staff may have been made to save money, but may also have been made so those who have been appointed (or appointed themselves!) and are in admin roles can “keep their hands in”. Where are the opportunties for coaches in the system, actually coaching? What pathway is there for a coach who has coached a National age group team or a senior Australian rep team ? Why would a local coach hang around in Australia with precedents such as these?
This sends a very strong message to professional coaches/trainers in Australia and aspiring coaches/trainers that the professional coaching environment in Australia is very much one which advocates an every man for himself approach and one in which it isn’t what you know but who you know . Unless the ARU takes control or a more active role in the development, integration and employement of coaches in Australia then the perceived or real trend where “if a coach is overseas he must be better” will continue and the coaches actually plying their trade IN AUSTRALIA will not be rewarded and will continue to leave.The ARU and state unions put lots of funding into coach development, coach accreditation courses, update courses, re-accreditation etc.. however at the elite or professional level absolutely no ongoing support , direction or development is offered to coaches, yet it is these coaches who will get the chop first should a team underperform. I am almost certain that a professional coaches salary at a province would be comparable to an average player wage and I am almost as certain that the coaches get to work in the morning before the players, do not have breaks at home between training sessions, spend twice as much weekend time analysing and leave for home long after the players have completed thair training duties.This whole situation is a by product of the state provinces running their own ships, all professional players being only contracted to their own unions (plus Wallaby top ups from ARU). Surely it’s time for the ARU to take some control of the shmozzle that is professional coaching in Australia.