Blues 2018
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@bovidae said in Blues 2018:
@duluth said in Blues 2018:
No one, not even Waikato fans, sees particularly keen on him taking over from Hansen. So he clearly needs to reform his public reputation.
Who are these Waikato fans you refer to? Gatland is a much better coach than Foster and has been successful with every team he has coached, both in NZ and in the UK.
As to Gatland's public reputation. I personally had little problem with what he said during the Lions tour, because obviously some of that criticism became personal. Henry was always a smug coach and wasn't universally liked outside of Auckland. Hansen had his issues too and needed some major PR work to win the media and fans over.
But having said all that, a coach should be judged on the record of the teams they coach and the Blues could do much worse than have Gatland as their next coach.
Id take Gatland as Blues coach in a heartbeat, and I’m not a massive fan of his. He would certainly fix systemic problems we have in the franchise and be experienced enough to influence the levels above.
If you can survive the backstabbing and politics of Welsh rugby you have some managerial skill. And of course the Lions.
As I said before, if he has success with the Blues it would give him a massive shot at the All blacks.
Foster was a super rugby failure (the final he made was a massive embarrassment of a result). And if our special needs coach really needs help, then we should be getting a new coach.
Three years in and he needs on the job training? We aren’t a charity.
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@bovidae said in Blues 2018:
OK. Your last sentence confused me as I thought you were saying you would choose Foster over Gatland for either coaching position.
Nope. My preference is for Gatland in 2020 (assuming the rumours are correct and that he wants the job)
I think his style would be a good fit.That leaves the problem of what to do next year. To be honest, I would be happy with any caretaker coach.
Unfortunately, the partially leaked reappointment of Umaga seems to make a Gatland appointment less likely.
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I suspect Waikato fans are more opposed to Foster than others. They had to watch his teams fail year after year in more detail.He's a nice guy, and a great technical coach, but he doesn't have what it takes to select well, and his teams are, let us say, variable in terms of mental preparation.
There is no shortage of qualified Kiwis with successful resumes. Why would you pick one with conspicuous failures?
Garland would not be my first choice though. We have succeeded by being more innovative. Warrenball isn't going to help.
I'm all for Foster going to the Blues though. It won't help them, but it might finally destroy the chance of Foster getting the ABs.
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@chester-draws were plenty opposed to Hansen 'taking over' from Henry too...
Guess we will start to see the value of Hansen & Foster this year without Smith in thier team
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@chester-draws said in Blues 2018:
Garland would not be my first choice though. We have succeeded by being more innovative. Warrenball isn't going to help.
Anything would be an improvement..
I think Gatland is a far better coach than he was a decade ago. The warrenball term still has some truth, but not as much as when he coached Wasps or Waikato.
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@nzzp said in Blues 2018:
Gatland would bring:
- Credibility
- Standards
- Coaching nous
- Discipline
What's not to like?
Edit: Also, i suspect he doesn't jump into burning dumpsters like the Blues though...
Also excessive twatishness - remember how he got on the Lions tour?
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@nepia said in Blues 2018:
Also excessive twatishness - remember how he got on the Lions tour?
On a related point..
How many friends does Gatland have at the NZRU? How many does Umaga have? I suspect thats more important than pesky rugby reasons
Personally I would much rather have a competent disliked coach.
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@duluth said in Blues 2018:
@nepia said in Blues 2018:
Also excessive twatishness - remember how he got on the Lions tour?
On a related point..
How many friends does Gatland have at the NZRU? How many does Umaga have? I suspect thats more important than pesky rugby reasons
Personally I would much rather have a competent disliked coach.
Who did you want, that would have applied, when Umaga was appointed?
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@nepia said in Blues 2018:
Did Pivac apply, I can't remember that far back. Weird that he's never had a shot at the Blues though.
Was it advertised? I can't remember.. I think the board gave up on Matson/Kirwan when Umaga was interested
Pivac applied a lot though. He doesn't have the right friends.
