Super Rugby Killing Season: Which coaches are on the block?

For six lucky teams the season rolls on. For the other nine Super Rugby outfits the time for navel gazing is upon us.

It’s a season of coaching musical chairs, hot seats and “global searches” for replacements. Here are some of the coaches I believe are in various stages of hot seat pressure. I’m writing this as I watch The Killing Season, but I promise it won’t be as bloody and that. No faceless men here.

Todd Blackadder – Crusaders
Blackadder is absolutely on one of those office chairs you can’t quite get in the right position. Either too low or too high, arm rests are too close or too far apart or bump into the desk and the back keeps falling too far away.

I covered this quickly last week in my ode to a changing of the guard and the end of a finals-bound Crusaders era. The Crusaders just missed the finals for the first time in 14 years, so they aren’t in crisis. But they haven’t won a championship since 2008 either, and the Crusaders are all about championships.

Todd Blackadder made the finals every year until this one, but just couldn’t work out how to win a final. That has to be annoying and people might start to wonder if he can.

Michael Foley – Force
Michael Foley has been sitting on a functioning, hard backed chair, without a cushion, for a long time.

Under Foley last year the Force won the most games in their history, picking up non scalps on the way to an almost-finals appearance. They were the darling of Fox Sports for a while, the plucky newcomers to the pointy end of Super Rugby.

This year the returned to the wooden spoon, with just three wins, fewer than in the year before their supposed breakthrough season. And they looked extremely limited doing it. Rather than building upon the success of last year, things have slipped apart under Foley.

There doesn’t seem to be any evidence Foley has done enough to bolster the playing group or expand their playing style to give them enough tactical options to succeed in Super Rugby.

Sir John Kirwan – Blues
Kirwan inherited an incomplete chair, with just three legs built and has failed to build the fourth one.

His side has had healthy doses of talented youngster, explosive players and skilful players. But he hasn’t been able to add the consistency required to succeed at Super Rugby level. It’s simple really. The result is six wins, seven wins and three wins since he took over at the Blues.

Kirwan is apparently close to being signed on for another year, but there hasn’t been any real evidence he will be able to build much more than he has. There’s no point keeping a coach sitting on a chair with three legs, so much effort goes into merely keeping it level that truly excelling isn’t really an option.

The Blues aren’t in a completely parlous state, in fact with the young talent around, someone who can build consistency at the club may see great results.

Frans Ludeke – Bulls
Ludeke honourably gave up his seat – throne really, to be coach of the Bulls is one of the plumb spots in world rugby – after many years perched atop the game.

Ludeke isn’t below the men still to come because he walked on his own after many years of good service. He won two Super Rugby championships during his eight years at the helm of the Bulls, and they were consistently among the best performing teams in the competition – hard to beat at home, with solid fundamental rugby skills that held them in good stead over the length of a season.

However the Bulls missed the finals this year and last year, grabbing only seven wins each season. At the Bulls that isn’t good enough, especially considering the talent they are able to consistently nab from other franchises. They can restock, rebuild and reload every offseason with both internal promotions and outside.

Stepping away now was a good idea and he should be remembered fondly for his time at the Bulls despite a slowing down of results and rugby evolution during his last two years.

Richard Graham – Reds
Graham’s seat is extremely hot and is probably about to be pulled out from underneath him. It is a pretty rubbish chair to have, hence him being so far down on the list.

Richard Graham conceded his future at the Reds is out of his hands after the Reds stumbled to a 31-3 loss to the Waratahs on Saturday night, their 12th defeat of the year. The four wins and 13th finish on the ladder is more of a throwback to the Phil Mooney era than showing any signs of regenerating a team that won the championship four years ago.

Their epic thrashing against the Crusaders seemed to indicate the team wasn’t playing for their coach anymore, especially in the second half when teamwork was non-existent, tackling optional and chasing too much work.

After making the finals and winning 10 games in 2013, the year Ewen McKenzie was still technically the man in charge, the Reds slumped to five wins last year and four this year. Nine wins in two years isn’t good enough for a coach with the talent he has around, in one of the nation’s biggest rugby breeding grounds.

The Reds will conduct a thorough internal review before making any firm decisions apparently. Rod McCall and Jim Charmichael as chairman and CEO seem to be smart, businessmen, and doing a review is the thorough thing to do. But hanging around is the Reds coach from 1989–2000, John Connolly, already on contract as a coaching consultant.

He might not be the next long-term Reds coach – and really, coaches don’t seem to stay anywhere long term these days anyway – but Connolly has the experience to be a transition coach, helping address the flaws in the squad, build basic defensive competencies and teamwork skills within a couple of years.

He’s already on the books, time to elevate him to the helm.

Naka Drotske – Cheetahs
Naka Drotske has already been replaced. He was on a wooden seat, on top of a pile of wood, doused in petrol and lit. Way too hot to stay on. So Drotske has the hottest seat on the list by virtue of already being turfed out.

A word about his replacement, Franco Smith. His side may have notched their first-ever victory against Loftus Versfeld on the weekend but they’ve only won nine games in the last two years combined. It’s one thing to get that new coach lift; it is another thing entirely to turn this Cheetahs side into a consistent winner. They have more ups and downs than a new ride at Movie World.

That’s why Drotske’s position was under so much scrutiny in South Africa – yes, I read the occasional South African rugby vertical – throughout April and May. His ‘retirement’ after eight years at the helm of the Cheetahs is also a bit of a template for Richard Graham’s current situation and possible termination.

A crucial ingredient is rampant speculation – present in both situations. Then there was an awkward outside hire at both clubs – Franco Smith was originally hired to be the Free State Currie Cup coach, but there were already undertones of a possible takeover from the minute that was announced.

That is replicated by the Reds bringing in Connolly as a ‘consultant’, sort of hanging over Richard Graham, but not officially being in charge.

Drotske walked under a combination of poor results and a hard to manage workplace situation.