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The difficult task of hiring the next Black Ferns coach

Joseph Pearson

Applications for Wayne Smith’s replacement are closed. The deadline was 5pm yesterday and New Zealand Rugby is hoping to finalise who will be the Black Ferns’ next ‘‘director of rugby’’ before Christmas, but the process could be dragged into next year.

Whatever the title, the role is essentially to be head coach through to the next Rugby World Cup in England in 2025 and finding anyone with a record as good as Smith’s is difficult.

The appointment will be hugely significant as NZ Rugby hopes to accelerate the development of women’s rugby after a momentous World Cup triumph on home soil.

While Wes Clarke and Allan Bunting seem like favourites for the job, the replacement for Smith isn’t yet certain and, at this stage, suitable candidates outside this year’s coaching group appear scarce.

Hiring a non-Kiwi coach also seems highly unlikely.

Smith’s work is done. The iconic 65-year-old coach reluctantly took the job in April after an ugly fallout from the team’s culture review which led to former coach Glenn Moore’s resignation.

He galvanised a team that was in disarray after losing heavily on tour to England and France last year and led them to a memorable World Cup win, beating the northern heavyweights in remarkable victories in the semifinal and final at Eden Park.

Replacing ‘‘the Professor’’ is not straightforward. He has returned to retirement and a coaching comeback of any kind, in any role, is unlikely.

The Black Ferns this season were the most professional outfit they could be and had a prestigious coaching team led by Smith, who was crowned World Rugby’s coach of the year after they beat England 34-31 in the breathtaking World Cup final.

Clarke and Whitney Hansen were assistants, Sir Graham Henry was in a support role, scrum guru Mike Cron was on board, and Bunting was hired as a manager of culture and leadership.

Like Smith, Henry is retiring after the two former All Blacks coaches won the ultimate prize in the women’s game with the Black Ferns, following their men’s World Cup wins in 2011 and 2015.

Cron’s future isn’t certain, but Hansen is likely to remain as an assistant coach, a role she also holds in Super Rugby Aupiki with Matatū .

Hansen, the forwards coach, has ruled herself out of taking the top job.

That leaves Clarke and Bunting, who are both highly respected figures.

Clarke has been an assistant with the Black Ferns since 2015 and might be ready for a promotion.

He was the defence coach this year and has seen the team’s environment transform with the game’s tentative shifts towards greater professionalism.

Bunting, one of the masterminds behind the phenomenal success of the Black Ferns sevens through to gold at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, was in the background in a cultural management role.

He led the Chiefs Manawa to the inaugural Aupiki title in March but has much less experience of coaching 15s.

The Black Ferns job would be the biggest role in either of their careers because of its greater profile after the World Cup.

Crowd records – domestically and in women’s rugby – were shattered throughout the tournament in an unprecedented wave of support for the game.

The coaching team will have to be decided, too, and there might be an opportunity for the Aupiki coaches to join the staff once that season ends in March.

The Black Ferns won’t play their next tests until at least next May or June.

Crystal Kaua (Chiefs), Victoria Grant (Hurricanes Poua), Willie Walker (Blues) and Blair Baxter (Matatū ) are the head coaches in Aupiki’s second edition.

Selecting the right coaching team is critical because NZ Rugby can’t afford to dawdle while the likes of England and France, with great resources, throw everything they can at winning the next World Cup.

The Black Ferns have oodles of talented players but will not succeed without the best available coaches.

Sport

en-nz

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282432763178861

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