Scottish Rugby Blog

Scottish Rugby News and Opinion

Search

Wayne’s Word, Photo Time, Excellent

Image courtesy of the SRU

Today the SRU announced that former All Black assistant coach and Super 15’s victorious Waikato Chiefs head coach Wayne Smith will tour Scotland in October.

Smith will work with Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby for a week each, as well as holding four separate workshops with coaches at ‘various levels of the game’.

Smith said of this trip that  “I’m really excited to visit Scotland and share some ideas. I have Scottish heritage and have always cherished touring here in the past with the All Blacks.

“Every coach has different thoughts on how to play the game and hopefully my Antipodean ideas will stir some interest! In my experience, every time you share an idea, you get a few back. From that perspective, I’m sure we’ll have some great conversations over the two weeks and we’ll all get something from them.”

This may sound wonderful, and no doubt it is well worth Wayne’s while, financially. However, this is an initiative that may not be as shiny and exciting as it first appears.

With Gregor Townsend eternally referred to as a student of the game, it would certainly be within his interest, alongside his Warriors, to listen to the man who has overseen so many successful attacking raids. Townsend already has previous, after all, having spent time recently observing the Chiefs.

Edinburgh, too, could look to Smith and listen to the man’s well publicised views on using turnover ball. That is right up Edinburgh’s alley, and the sniping 9 still in Michael Bradley’s head will have certainly had his curiosity piqued.

It has not been mentioned, but hopefully the young Sevens contracted players get to meet with him, too. After all, the younger guys are there to develop for the 15-a-side game.

This is all fine and good. It will benefit athletes at the peak of their fitness and it will certainly get Sky Sports, ESPN and the broadsheets that tiny bit more interested in the two Scots sides. There may be a few more snappers at HQ, and there will certainly be at least one more open training session on either coast.

The potential issue, though, is the open workshops. It could benefit the lower tiers of the game, that is for sure, but the term “Antipodean ideas” sits as easily as a Syrup of Figs milkshake.

Rugby has been professional for long enough. Yet there is still the hang-up on Southern Hemisphere rugby. It is still placed on a pedestal. Despite a different English system that cowed the world in ’03, it is still not as regarded as the systems in the other hemisphere.

As well as this, generations of Scots teams have faced down spittle-edged rants about playing the Scottish way. Attacking when cornered; offloading out of trouble; defending like lives are the least of your worries.

All levels of coaching below the professional and international ranks should be given a message. Scotland and its sides should have a plan for how to develop players. It should be unwavering, so that every kid has a chance of developing.

If a big name lecturer from under the equator can butt in on such systems and deliver his bit then hopefully his words are paid with enough respect to use them properly. Make his ways part of Scottish coaching manuals. Make sure the message is relayed to all of the game. Keep the cameras out of these seminars so that it is just the man and his crowd.

It should be asked if Wayne’s word is in line with the coaching plans for Scottish youth, or if such plans are in place. Because plans must be in place, right?

This could be something great, but the depth of the initiative must be less shallow than press releases suggest. Otherwise this flying visit will end up in one session going for one region, and it will be lost amongst all the other individual sessions that local coaches sit in on every season.

4 Responses

  1. Good article Alan – having lived in NZ for 30 yrs prior to return to the UK, I think the comment about “financially” benefiting Wayne is a bit off! He was able to resist the $$$$ offered by England rugby to become backs coach, so I can say that money does not motivate Wayne. By the way he is not head coach at Waikato Chiefs, that role belongs to the next All Blacks Coach Dave Rennie … Smith is the Chiefs backs & defence coach.

    Wayne Smith was team leader in developing the Match Statistics software that is used by SANZAR nations only to analyse rugby match data. Rennie & Smith used this software to recruit the 2012 Chiefs squad … they were after players that put in the “hard work” rather than star quality. Despite this, SBW went to the Chiefs because Wayne Smith was there!

    Alan, I think the point you are missing is not the difference between SH & NH rugby, but how do NZ produce so much rugby talent at a young age? The Chiefs won Super 15 due to 5 player under 22 who had never played Super 15 previously … due to early injuries they had to step up. This is what I would be looking to learn from Wayne Smith, the Rugby Professor …

  2. Thanks McIrvine, and thanks for the clarification.

    What I am saying is that we need more talent at a young age. So things that Smith sees as vital should be worked into our systems for youth immediately, or even offset against what we have, rather than just being rolled out in one of four sessions. The effect will not be lasting if that is the extent of it.

    Seems silly having such a successful man on our shores and not trying to emulate some of his coaching techniques in, say, six years time.

    As an aside: if he is visiting for free I’d be very shocked, if a little humbled. No matter how good friends he is with Townsend or how principled he is, a fortnight is a long time to give up your expertise.

You might also like these:

Scotland Women's Head Coach Bryan Easson has shown confidence in the team that made history last weekend as they return home to the Hive Stadium to face France with just two adjustments to the starting XV.
Scotland overturned a run of narrow defeats against Wales to come away with a first win in Cardiff since 2004 and seven test victories in a row for the first time in their history. Here's Eleanor with the talking points.
Give us your thoughts on the game as Scotland visit Cardiff Arms Park for the tournament opener.
Jonny is joined by Craig, Iain and Rory to review how the Men's and Under-20's Six Nations went for Scotland, as well as looking forward to the upcoming Women's 6 Nations tournament and rounding up the latest Scottish rugby news.

Scottish Rugby News and Opinion

Search