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It is very common for former players to enter the coaching box once they retire. Some of them are successful, while others are not; unfortunately Sir John Kirwan falls in the latter category.
Sir John Kirwan was a great rugby player. He was the first of a new breed of big, powerful wingers, and at times he was utterly unstoppable.
If Jonah Lomu hadn’t redefined what unstoppable meant, we would consider Sir John the prime example of a big winger who could score tries almost at will.
Sir John is also a leader in redefining how men think about depression. His fronting of campaigns to publicise depression made him a statesmanlike figure with a profile far beyond that of merely a rugby player. He has proven himself to be both a physical and mental giant among men.
But does any of this greatness translate to Sir John being a good rugby coach? Does any of his status automatically mean he should be coach of an important franchise like the Blues? Do any of his peerless qualities as a man translate to an ability to inspire others to succeed on the field? Unfortunately the answer to all these questions seems to be no.
Sir John began his coaching career after short assistant-coach appointments at the Blues and Italy, before being named head coach of the Azzuri. While Italy are not quite a top-flight team, they do play in the Six Nations and are one of the world’s premier national sides.
It seemed that Sir John got the job based on all the qualities mentioned, not on his abilities as a coach. He had no track record of head coaching at club or provincial level to support any claim to coach a Six Nations team.
His record with Italy was 21 losses and 8 wins. Only 2 of those wins were over other premier level sides – one over Scotland and one over Wales. Their other wins came against sides like Romania and Japan. Eventually the Italians realised that in spite of his reputation, Sir John was not the man for the job and he was shown the door.
He moved from there to coach Japan. His record was 24 wins, 18 losses and one draw, but the win figures are inflated because Japan play in the Asian Nations Cup Top 5, a competition which they win every year. They regularly run up massive scores against teams like Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE and Sri Lanka. They are completely in a different class to these teams, and 20 of the 24 wins were against those teams.
During Sir John’s tenure, Japan also played in the Pacific Nations Cup and picked up the occasional win against Tonga, Fiji and Samoa, while getting thumped resoundingly by New Zealand Maori and Australia A. The big result during his time was the 23-23 draw against Canada in the World Cup, Japan’s first result in a World Cup match that was not a loss.
But none of these results really showed any great development in the Japanese side, in spite of an increasing profile for rugby in Japan and improving playing standards among the clubs.
Once pushed out by the Japanese, Sir John moved to the Blues and appears to have been appointed coach based on his Auckland heritage, which presumably means he could get other Aucklanders to play good rugby. This has not proved to be the case. A great player and a great person have not combined, in this case, to create a great coach.
Sir John’s teams abound with talent but they do not seem to have any collective drive or ability to harness their talents in a way that leads to great sides, like the Auckland teams of the ’80s that Sir John played in. Sir John is tarnishing his reputation of succeeding in everything by proving unsuccessful as a coach.
It’s time for the Blues to look elsewhere, for a coach who has a proven track record in coaching teams to success.
Not necessarily a big name, not necessarily a former player, not necessarily a great man, not necessarily a knight – simply a good coach.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.