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What defines a successful team? It’s the question that has stumped clubs, franchises and nations for as long as sport has existed. How can one achieve success within a team when the path to success is forever changing? The answer is very simple.
Adapt.
Adapt to the context, to ensure you are not left behind. Adapt to your opposition, to ensure they never have the edge. But most importantly, never cling to an approach, expecting it to always provide the answer when the evolution of the game dictates its abandonment.
For the rugby world, this is the unfortunate situation that has arisen in regard to provincialism, as the game moves into the professional era.
Provincialism once had a monopoly over who could be involved within teams, as both rules and finances had no place within the white lines. Players and coaches alike were to be from the province they had been raised in, as their passion for that particular team could not be replicated for another. This was helped by the fact that without money, there was simply no reason to make the shift, however the advent of professionalism has meant this has all been placed into question.
Rugby is now globally linked, as the best players and coaches are now available to be scrutinised, and ultimately relocated. To be passionate about your province is no longer enough, as the best players may now reside beyond the borders of that particular region.
For the purpose of this article, I will use coaches as the main example, as too often teams will be inclined to select theirs based off pride, rather than making the decision that will most likely achieve success.
How many teams have we seen fall into this trap? The Blues and Crusaders spring to mind, as they are both headed by coaches that despite their obvious lack of credentials were still given the nod.
Todd Blackadder is a legend within Canterbury, but his coaching record threatens to derail that. Since their seventh campaign victory in 2008 under Robbie Deans, the Crusaders have not won a title; harsh reading for a franchise that has for so long not accepted anything but first place.
Prior to his appointment in 2009, Blackadder’s coaching history was not particularly outstanding. He coach Edinburgh and Scotland, with the Gunners failing to qualify for the Heineken Cup playoffs, and the less said about Scotland’s history of results the better. He then took charge of Tasman in 2008, where to his credit they qualified for the quarter-finals before being belted by Canterbury by 38 points. A year later he was appointed as head coach of the Crusaders.
What did the board see in his coaching credentials to make such a decision? The only logical answer is his status within Canterbury rugby. Since then, assistant coaches have come and gone, all from within the province when there were far more viable options beyond it. This loyal approach has evidently resulted in failure.
The Blues are another case, yet a little more tricky given Sir John Kirwan’s experience as head coach of a few national sides; something that stands out when looking for another job. Unfortunately one of these teams was Italy, which under his tenure recorded only two wins in three years. He was then appointed head coach of Japan, who failed to claim even one win in the 2007 World Cup, and were no better in 2011. His short stint as the Blues assistant coach in 2001 was possibly the most concerning part of his CV, as they placed a dismal 11th.
Yet despite all this, he was appointed head coach of the Blues, who unsurprisingly have gone backwards at a rate of knots since their semi-final exit in 2011.
Reports have emerged that Kirwan, despite the Blues having possibly their worst season in their history, has been reappointed for an undisclosed amount of time. I do not know what the rationale behind the decision was, but it would be foolish to count out the board’s unwillingness to give the boot to one of Auckland rugby’s most cherished legends.
It doesn’t end there either. Martin Johnson and England, and Richard Graham and the Reds were baffling appointments when their coaching records are placed into consideration. Again this idea of pride within the club or national side is at the forefront of decision making, and it simply must stop. Emotions do not win titles.
The antithesis of this is Dave Rennie, a coach whose phenomenal record with the Chiefs is a product of forward thinking by the executive board to select him despite having no prior connection to the province.
Rennie was in charge of the Baby Blacks, who won every tournament bar 2011 under his reign. His Manawatu record was slightly less impressive, however the 2011 season he unearthed two gems in Aaron Cruden and Aaron Smith, who led Manawatu to the top of the championship before falling to Hawkes Bay in a thriller. This is the type of record a franchise can put faith in.
Ewen McKenzie is another example. He coached the Reds to the title in 2011, despite being in charge of arch rivals the Waratahs previously. This is simply a case of favouring a coach’s success over their provincial status.
There seems to be an unfounded belief that only someone who has experienced what it is like to play for a particular team can coach them with any success. However under Rennie and McKenzie, the Chiefs and Reds respectively had no problems creating a positive team dynamic.
This can even extend to national sides. Joe Schmidt and Ireland, Vern Cotter and Scotland, Eddie Jones and Japan, Warren Gatland and Wales. All teams who have shone under a foreign coach. The reasons for this? Not because they are bringing back the successful mantra they experienced as players, which is total garbage, but because they are brilliant coaches who know how to unite a side. These men are hired due to their professional history with the jobs they have handled, not provincial pride. This should not be a hard concept to grasp.
The borders between regions and nations have been broken down. Selecting the right person for the job has always been a pillar of success, and we rightly condemn those who select based off an unjustified and biased approach. This should not change because pride is at stake.
The Crusaders will not achieve success until they hire qualified coaches from outside the province. The Blues will not achieve success until they accept the fact that their provincial hero is not, and never showed any signs of being, their saviour.
The Chiefs and Reds achieved success because they did exactly that. Chasing fairytales will only get you so far in the harsh world of professional exposure.
I do not like what has happened to once-valued provincial patriotism, but I accept that it no longer has a place within the game. Teams simply must adapt to ensure they maintain their edge, as there is no use living in the past. Professionalism is the way forward, whether we like it or not, and rugby is not the only sport where this is the case.
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.