Steamers coach Schmidt Auckland-bound

Bay of Plenty backline guru Joe Schmidt is adamant some of his players should be following him to higher honours.
Minutes after the NPC rugby side brilliantly claimed their fourth scalp of the season by beating Wellington on Saturday, Schmidt dropped a bombshell on the team by announcing he was leaving at the end of the season.
The seemingly bottomless resource pit of Auckland rugby had swooped on Schmidt's prodigious talents and charged him with solving the puzzle of the Blues' under-performing backline, working with head coach Peter Sloane and sacked Brumbies coach David Nucifora.
The Blues bypassed coaching resources inside their franchise to appoint Schmidt, who was selected from a final shortlist of North Harbour's Allan Pollock and Canterbury's Aussie McLean.
"It was felt that Schmidt's technical knowledge, along with the innovative approach he has clearly brought to the Bay of Plenty backline over the past two seasons, best complemented Sloane and Nucifora's coaching attributes," Blues chief executive David White said.
Schmidt's first task was being flown yesterday to Whangarei by the Auckland Rugby Union to watch Blues franchise teams Northland and North Harbour do battle.
Bay of Plenty's assistant coach for the past two seasons behind Vern Cotter, Schmidt admits he agonised over the decision but leaves with the union on the rise.
"I felt I had to take the opportunity but I'm pretty gutted about leaving what has been a momentous couple of years,'' he said. ``The players have won me this opportunity. They've done the job."
Having knocked over Auckland, Waikato, Otago and Wellington already this season, Schmidt questioned what more his players need to do to achieve higher honours.
"They've got to be looked at, not just with a patronising `boy, he's done pretty well', but with a serious look."
The drums beating for Wayne Ormond's inclusion in the end of year All Black tour are steadily becoming a roar.
All Black coach Graham Henry was again at Blue Chip Stadium on Saturday to witness another consummate display performance from the rugged flanker as he outplayed current All Black flanker Jerry Collins.
But Schmidt believes several of Ormond's team-mates could also be staking a claim for honours much higher than just the Chiefs.
"Guys like Rua Tipoki, Grant McQuoid and Kevin Senio - Grant McQuoid is at worst a Super 12 player and, if he can continue his momentum, is another guy who should get a trial or a run at the top level.
"We lost Kevin Senio but he's been a pivotal player because he's the cohesion between backs and forwards. He's just such a threat to the defensive line and he's an outstanding player with All Black potential.
"Even Cashy (fullback Adrian Cashmore), the old war horse, is doing a great job and he's getting better and better." Schmidt will leave a huge gap when he leaves. He is innovative, organised and an exceptional communicator, a hangover from a long and successful teaching career, during which he also coached New Zealand secondary schools for three years.
This year the 38-year-old set up and ran Bay of Plenty's first rugby academy after turning down an offer to co-coach the Auckland NPC team at the end of last season.
It's his skill getting the best out of younger players that has him so highly desirable in the Auckland set-up.
"I'm pretty young in coaching terms but in doing the schoolboys for three or so years I know a lot of the players. Part of the opportunity is I know a lot of the players and so it's more comfortable than going in not knowing them."
And he hasn't ruled out coming back to Bay of Plenty in future.
"I've signalled to the Bay union that I would love to come back here and be head coach at some stage. I'd love to grab hold of the team."
In a tribute to his popularity, not one of his players or fellow management begrudged him taking the job, although head coach Vern Cotter wryly invited the former Manawatu wing up to his Te Puke farm this week for docking.
The obvious suggestion from the laconic Cotter was that no lambs would be invited.
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