All Blacks and Black Ferns will benefit from Wayne Smith’s unmatched rugby brain

Wayne Smith will continue his glittering coaching career. Photo / photosport.co.nz

In a glittering rugby career that will now reach its 45th year, Wayne Smith has learnt that good ideas come from unexpected places.

The coaching guru was today announced in a new role overseeing both the All Blacks and Black Ferns, working with Scott Robertson and Allan Bunting while sharing some of the ideas he’s accrued since making his provincial bow in 1979.

Not all those ideas will be effective or applicable, Smith knows. But given Robertson and Bunting are taking their first steps with the flagship national sides, being willing to experiment with the unusual is the biggest lesson the Professor aims to impart.

“I’m a bit different as a coach,” Smith said. “Sometimes you can get a different solution to what you’re thinking about if you’re meeting with different people.

“In 2011, before the World Cup, I did some new tackle stuff with the team that I learnt from the Melbourne Storm, and as we were walking off the field, Ali Williams came and put his arm around me and said, ‘That would be the first decent thing you’ve done all year’.

“But that’s right – I think more than half the stuff I’ve done in my life hasn’t worked, but some has worked. It’s just picking out those times when it did.”

It certainly worked in 2011 – and again in 2022, when Smith answered an SOS call to take over the Black Ferns and, as became customary, delivered another World Cup trophy.

That was meant to be the golden conclusion to Smith’s long life in rugby. Retirement and the family bach at Waihi Beach awaited. But the coaching bug didn’t dissipate, nor his passion for rugby, and soon class will be back in session.

“I love the game, clearly,” he said. “I love the black jersey, whether it’s Black Ferns, whether it’s All Blacks, whether it’s Māori All Blacks – it doesn’t make any difference to me.

“I’ve been involved with New Zealand rugby since probably ‘79 as either a player or a coach or a mentor or a CEO at Hawke’s Bay. It’s been my life and it sounds like it’s going to continue for a wee bit longer.”

This new role has a title – performance coach to the Black Ferns and All Blacks – if not a concrete description. The New Zealand Rugby press release mentioned mentoring; Smith offered more of a shrug and sounded most ready for a yarn.

“I wouldn’t call it mentoring – it’s sharing an idea here and there, and getting some ideas back,” he said. “It’s good for me to keep thinking about the game and developing.

“I’m a learner. I’m in contact with a lot of people in different sports, different organisations. I think that’s how you develop. If you’ve got a great mindset, you never finish learning stuff.

“Having diversity of people and different perspectives is really important when you’re decision-making. You sometimes choose old decisions that you’ve made before, whereas a new solution might be a better option. Those are the sorts of discussions that I’m sure we’ll have.”

The discussions have been ongoing with Bunting – involved in the Black Ferns setup last year – while Smith will engage further with Robertson – a player he coached at the Crusaders and All Blacks – when he assumes the job after the World Cup.

Owing to a full calendar for the rest of 2023, Smith won’t attend that tournament in France. He will soon be in Europe, though – first Tuscany, celebrating the 50th birthday of another former pupil in Tabai Matson, then Treviso, paying his respects to a great mate who passed away while Smith was preparing for last year’s World Cup.

With a family trip to Fiji following later in the year, Smith’s schedule begins to resemble that of a 66-year-old enjoying a well-deserved retirement. But that unmatched rugby brain remained in demand and, despite the financial might of other unions, Smith knew there was only one way he would be lured off the beach.

“I don’t think other countries would be interested in talking to me about anything different,” he said. “I think it’s been pretty clear over the last 40 years that pulling the black jersey over the head is the only jersey I’ve ever wanted.”