Sean Fitzpatrick reveals ‘huge moment’ in appointment of new All Blacks coach and highlights important aspect needed once decision is made
Ex-New Zealand skipper Sean Fitzpatrick (inset) and the All Blacks singing their anthem.
Although he is not against the idea of Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie working together as part of the All Blacks coaching staff, Sean Fitzpatrick feels it’s important that the three-time world champions must have only one head coach.
With New Zealand Rugby (NZR) set to announce who will take over the All Blacks’ coaching reins from Scott Robertson imminently, Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph and Kobelco Kobe Steelers boss Dave Rennie have emerged as the favourites to take charge of New Zealand’s national team.
NZR have tasked a five-man appointment panel consisting of board chair David Kirk, former All Blacks hookers Keven Mealamu and Dane Coles, interim chief executive Steve Lancaster and ex-Black Sox softball coach Don Tricker to decide who the preferred candidate should be, which will then be presented to the board.
When advertising the vacancy, NZ Rugby set strict criteria that Robertson’s successor would need to be a New Zealander and have international head coaching experience.
Joseph was Japan’s head coach from 2016 to 2023, while Rennie was in charge of the Wallabies from 2020 to 2023.
According to a report in The Post, a NZR delegation went to Japan to speak with Rennie in Kobe after spending time in Dunedin last week at the Highlanders headquarters with Joseph.
This means that the decision and subsequent announcement on the All Blacks’ head coaching position is set to be made in the second week of March.
Fitzpatrick, who made 92 Test appearances for the All Blacks and captained them in 51 of those, believes both Joseph and Rennie will do a good job if either of them take charge of the All Blacks.
‘It’s obviously going to be one of two’
“Who that All Black coach is going to be, we don’t know yet, but it’s obviously going to be one of two,” Fitzpatrick told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.
“So Jamie, for example, he’s got a really good idea in terms of what’s available. And he’s been involved in the New Zealand setup for a long time.
“Dave Rennie, he’s been around, so he knows a lot too. But there are other names that we could talk about (too).
“This is a huge moment for New Zealand Rugby in terms of the preparation going forward, not only for this year, but also for next year’s World Cup.”
That report in The Post revealed that both Joseph and Rennie are not in favour of working as an assistant coach with the All Blacks and only see themselves taking charge of the team.
While Fitzpatrick feels it would be great if Joseph and Rennie were involved with the All Blacks’ coaching set-up at the same time, he feels it’s imperative that there is only one man in charge of the team.
“If they can (be part of the same coaching staff), that’d be fantastic,” said the 62-year-old.
Highlights the importance of one head coach
“I think you need a head coach that sets where we’re going and the standards and the culture and all that stuff, which I always talk about, is just behaviours and that’s about people.
“That’s what I like particularly about these two guys is that they’re good people and I know both of them, which is what we need.
“I’m not saying that we didn’t have that, but I know, especially Jamie, who I know really well, he understands people, which is ultimately what we need.”
Fitzpatrick added that another important aspect for the new All Blacks head coach is who NZR appoint as their assistant coaches.
“And then they need to surround themselves with the right people,” he said. “You think back to Ted (Graham Henry) and to Fozzie (Ian Foster) and Steve Hansen, they had good people around them. In terms of scrum coaches, and the Wayne Smiths of the world.
“That’s, wow! They’d be challenging. I can imagine them sitting around the breakfast table in the morning just challenging each other.
“If we can get the right people and we have got the right people, we’ve got some real talent around the world.”
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