All Blacks get management makeover

All Blacks get management makeover
By DUNCAN JOHNSTONE - RugbyHeaven | Friday, 22 February 2008
All Blacks get management makeover - Rugby news & coverage - Stuff.co.nz



The All Blacks have lost five of last year's management staff with Graham Henry's brains trust on the lookout for new talent as they look to pick up the pieces from the World Cup disaster.

Strength and conditioning coach Graham Lowe is moving into yachting to take up a position with glamour America's Cup outfit Oracle.

Lowe oversaw last year's controversial reconditioning programme that was designed to give the All Blacks an edge at the World Cup.

Assistant strength and conditioning coach Ashley Jones, video analyst Andrew Sullivan and muscle therapist George Duncan have opted to relinquish their All Blacks jobs.

Jones and Sullivan remain with the Crusaders while Duncan will concentrate on his private practice. All Blacks selector Sir Brian Lochore retired late last year.

"We are working through a lot of detail but we expect eight staff members will return, while five have chosen to step away," said All Blacks manager Darren Shand who is one of eight management to stay involved for 2008.

"We are advertising to fill three roles, starting today."

In addition to Shand and the coaches Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, the All Blacks retain Doctor Deb Robinson, physiotherapist Peter Gallagher, equipment manager Errol Collins and media manager Scott Compton.

The All Blacks will appoint a new strength and conditioning coach, video analyst and manual therapist for the 2008 season.

The high turnover in staff is reflective of the four-year cycle that dominates world rugby these days. Henry and his coaching staff survived the World Cup fallout but it seems some of his workers have decided it's time to move on from the pressures and time-consuming nature of working with the All Blacks.

Shand said the All Blacks would also supplement the staff of eleven with the services of specialists from the New Zealand Rugby Union's high performance unit such as scrum coach Mike Cron, skills coach Mick Byrne and mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka.

"Mike Cron and Mick Byrne serve the provinces, academies and Rebel Sport Super 14 franchises as well as the All Blacks," said Shand.

"We need to work through exactly how their time is divided in 2008, but their specialist knowledge is important at all levels of New Zealand rugby including the All Blacks."

Shand added that the scope of Enoka's work and level of involvement was yet to be confirmed.

Enoka was entrusted with building the mental strength of the players over the past few years with an eye to dealing with World Cup-type pressures, something that had hindered New Zealand's previous cup campaigns. But the quarter-final loss to France in Cardiff would appear to place a question mark over the effectiveness of that programme.

"We review every staff member's performance at the end of each season and believe we have a hard-working group with a great deal of expertise and experience," said Shand. "We don't want to lose sight of that despite the disappointment of last year's World Cup."