Witcombe's coach joke was right on money

Rugby
Life can be ironic at times, as the recently appointed Northland rugby assistant coach Derren Witcombe has discovered.
The former All Black and provincial hooker remembered joking four years ago with the recently named head coach Adriaan Ferris that the pair would coach Northland, after a second neck injury forced Witcombe to pull the pin on his playing career.
The 32-year-old, who played two seasons for Northland before shifting to Auckland in 2003, said he knew Ferris from his club rugby days in Northland.
"I was playing for Hora Hora while Adriaan played for Mid Northern - we knew each other vaguely ... it's funny how it has turned out, here we are about to coach Northland."
Witcombe's career-ending injury occurred after he had played only five tests for the All Blacks, and while he was playing for Auckland in the first game of the 2007 provincial season. After the accident, coaching "sort of snuck up" on him and grabbed him, he said.
"It was also Steve Devine's last game so we both stayed with the side that year to help out as we were two of the older experienced players - that was good for us and hopefully good for Pat (Lam, Auckland coach at that time).
"I did quite a bit of analysis and helped out with the front row. The following year Steve and I coached the Auckland Colts and helped Pat out again and then the job in Japan came up, so I went with it."
Three months ago, Witcombe returned from a two-year stint in Osaka, where he was the forwards coach for the Japanese division two NTT Docomo Rugby Team.
"Japan was very exciting and a challenge, and a great place to live for a while - I learnt a lot about dealing with people and different cultures and how to problem-solve."
He is geared up to start his new role officially on Monday, when he will get stuck into coaching the Northland squad in their pre-season build up to the 2011 ITM Cup campaign. "I'm really looking forward to building on what other coaches have already done during the last couple of years and keep the momentum going that they have gained."
As a forwards' specialist, he will be looking to improve Northland's accuracy rate in their set pieces - statistics which have not looked too flash compared to other provinces in recent seasons.
One issue he thought he might face as a coach was his relatively young age. "Thirty-two is quite young to coach - but it doesn't seem to matter too much ... I have played with quite a few of these guys before, like Rene Ranger, Rhyan Caine, Tim Dow - quite a few of them actually, so it will just be a matter of knowing when to draw the line between being a coach and a mate," he said.
But he was up for any challenge which came his way with the new role, he said. Witcombe is based in Auckland but is looking to move north for the job's duration - another positive for the assistant coach, who enjoys the Northland lifestyle.
Before rugby became his main priority, Witcombe also played cricket for Northland, and the wicketkeeper/batsman said he might even have a crack at playing this side of Christmas, if a team would have him.