New head coaches bring broad experience, backgrounds to Super Rugby
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — One of the most intriguing features of Super Rugby Pacific this season is the broad range of experience and influences various new head coaches bring to the competition.
Of the 12 teams in the competition, five are under new head coaches this season and those coaches come from disparate backgrounds that are likely to inform their approach and game plans.
The new Queensland Reds head coach Les Kiss is a prime example. The 59-year-old played almost 200 matches in Australia's National Rugby League, represented Queensland and Australia and coached the London Broncos Super League team before switching to rugby.
He coached Ulster and London Irish and was an assistant coach for Ireland, South Africa and the New South Wales Waratahs before taking over the Reds from his mentor, the dual league and rugby international Brad Thorn.
Kiss made an immediate impact as the Reds beat bitter rivals the New South Wales Waratahs in their opening match. He already has a long record of success, winning three Six Nations titles with Ireland a Pro14 title with Ulster and leading London Irish back into the English Premiership.
While they haven’t won a full Super Rugby title since 2011, the Reds won Super Rugby Australia during the second year of the pandemic and Kiss believes the team has the building blocks for future success.
“With anything in life, you need meaning and purpose. That’s already clear to see here,” Kiss said. “Brad Thorn laid a culture of fight, spirit and hard work, plus a love for the jersey. As Queenslanders we get that.
“I am committed to building on these strong foundations to help the Reds achieve their full potential in Super Rugby.”
The former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga also brings a wide range of experience to his new role as head coach of Moana Pasifika. Umaga played both rugby and league to a high level, winning selection as a Junior Kiwi league representative.
He played 74 tests for the All Blacks, as captain in 2004 and 2005, and later coached Toulon, Counties-Manukau and the Auckland-based Blues and was an assistant coach of Samoa.
“The purpose of Moana Pasifika resonates with me,” he said. “Assisting Pasifika players for the betterment of not just themselves and Moana but also Samoa and Tonga.”
Vern Cotter who has taken over at the Blues from Leon MacDonald has a substantial coaching and playing resume. As a player he played in both New Zealand and France and as a coach he has guided both Scotland and Fiji, Clermont Auvergne and Montpellier in France and Bay of Plenty in New Zealand.
The Blues have begun their season with high-scoring wins over the Fijian Drua and the Dunedin-based Highlanders and already seem a leading playoff hope.
“You’ve just got to get stuck in and see how you go,” Cotter said. “There will be games that you think you should win and you don’t. At the end of the day, it will come down to the last three weeks (when the playoffs take place).
“You have to get yourself there so we’re fully focused on getting to those last three.”
The Hurricanes head coach this season is Scotland-born Clark Laidlaw, former coach of the Scotland and New Zealand men's sevens teams.
Rob Penney is the new head coach of the Crusaders, taking over from Scott Robertson who led the team to seven consecutive Super Rugby titles. Robertson always was going to be a hard act to follow and Penney’s job has been made harder by the departure of several leading players.
The Christchurch-based Crusaders have started the season with back-to-back losses for the first time in almost 10 years. After a first round loss to the Hamilton-based Chiefs, the Crusaders lost in round two to the New South Wales Waratahs.
Penney began his coaching career as an assistant at the Crusaders in 2005 and since has gained a wide range of experience, coaching Munster in Ireland, the Waratahs and the Urayasu Shining Arcs in Japan.
Robertson has left a “tremendous legacy” at the Crusders, Penney said.
“This is a new team, new group and we’re just focused on being the best team we can be this year. Past Crusaders teams have been outstanding and the boys are just concentrating on trying to replicate their on and off field performances.”
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