He was a creative force behind the All Blacks for an extended period, helped the Chiefs to Super Rugby success and won trophies in Japan. He has also consulted with the Melbourne Storm.
His recent work with the Black Ferns won nationwide acclaim, as he masterminded the memorable World Cup triumph last year.
While it’s hard to compare the two sports – as the Black Ferns are big players in a small pool of mostly amateur nations and the Football Ferns are competing in a global game – there are synergies, especially with Smith’s work in team building and maximising the potential of individuals and groups.
“He is amazing,” Klimkova told the Herald. “I hadn’t met him in person before and our conversation was just incredible. I always loved the way he coached the team and loved how he was communicating about his players and the way he was connecting with his players.”
Klimkova caught up with Smith for two hours, in a meeting arranged by NZF.
“It was a proactive approach from our side,” confirmed Klimkova. “I was always very open to it and it was the best timing for him and for me. I hope it is not the last time.”
Klimkova, who was appointed to the Ferns role in September 2021, came away impressed.
“The biggest takeaways from him would be enjoying this journey for everybody who is involved and connecting,” said Klimkova. “Connecting is something we have been working so hard on, connection on the field and off the field. It is a never-ending story. [There are] different ways we can approach it in the upcoming weeks and he inspired me to think about the approaches in different ways.”
Smith has recently been appointed performance coach to the Black Ferns and All Blacks, a role which includes mentoring the head coaches.
He is renowned for his “outside the box” thinking and challenging existing norms, as he showed with his remodelling of the Black Ferns strategy ahead of their World Cup.
“He is very creative and aggressive with his approach,” said Klimkova. “He has his way. Every coach has a different way of coaching and we all need to look at ways that we can grow as coaches and for me I want to grow, to learn the Kiwi way.
“Living here has helped but I am still learning and I am still looking for the advice that can help and can fit to our team. We can’t just replicate everything that was done with other teams, we need to find our way, how it can work out for us.”
The wider Ferns squad completed six weeks of their pre-tournament training camp on Friday.
Klimkova is satisfied with the progress and emphasises there is still plenty of competition for spaces, with the final 23-player tournament squad to be confirmed on June 20.
“For me it is about how the players are performing,” said Klimkova. “It is not about how many caps they have, how experienced they are or how young they are, it is more about where they are. The roster is open; that is what I am telling them all the time – ‘you guys are competing for those spots, leave everything on the field every session’.”
The team have endured a physical load – training Monday through Friday with weekends to recover – but are dealing with it well.
Apart from preparing for the Cup opposition, with Norway, Philippines and Switzerland in Group A, the emphasis has been on decision-making in the final third, defensive shape and set pieces.
“We are focusing on us and our growth and we are growing,” said Klimkova. “This is a huge investment for the future as well.”
