As speculation continues to mount around Jamie Joseph becoming the next All Blacks coach, former players who worked under him believe he is the right man for the job.
The hunt for a new All Blacks coach has been underway for a week after New Zealand Rugby (NZR) parted ways with Scott Robertson just two years into his four-year contract.
NZR chair David Kirk has refuted suggestions the decision was driven by player unrest, instead pointing to concerns over the team’s trajectory, with a tour of South Africa looming later this year and the 2027 Rugby World Cup on the horizon.
While names such as Robbie Deans, Joe Schmidt and Dave Rennie have been mooted, Joseph sits at the top of many lists.
His coaching resumé includes leading the Highlanders to Super Rugby glory in 2015, guiding Japan to their maiden World Cup quarter-final in 2019 and going unbeaten with the All Blacks XV last year, further enhancing his credentials.
Former All Blacks Lima Sopoaga, Malakai Fekitoa and Elliot Dixon, who all spent several years under Joseph at the Highlanders from the early struggles through to the elation of the 2015 title, have thrown their support behind him.
“There’s probably no one else willing to walk into this fire,” Sopoaga told Newstalk ZB. “It’s a massive pressure cooker for whoever takes that job.
“If he does get it, he’ll take on this challenge the same way he approached his rugby career, the way he’s always done.”
Fekitoa joined the Highlanders in 2014 from the Blues and said Joseph is the coach you would “run through walls” for.
“Jamie is one of the best coaches I’ve been under,” Fekitoa told the Herald.
“He’s the kind of coach that you can run through walls with. Just to have the human side of him, he’s good like that.
“I think he’s going to definitely make a difference and it could be what New Zealand Rugby needs at this point and I’m very happy for him if he gets it.”
Dixon described Joseph as a hard-nosed coach with a clear vision.
“He’s got my vote,” Dixon told the Herald. “I think he’d do well with the All Blacks.
“Jamie’s tough, but you could always tell he had a plan. No one was above the team, and everything he did was about the bigger picture.”
Sopoaga first played under Joseph with the Wellington Lions in 2010 before joining him at the Highlanders the following year.
Dixon also joined in 2011 but didn’t make his debut until 2012. The Highlanders endured mixed seasons in 2011 and 2012 before the wheels fell off in 2013, when they registered just one win in their opening 14 rounds.
Sopoaga, a dual international with 16 tests for New Zealand and three for Samoa, feels that difficult season helped shape Joseph as a coach and believes he can steer the All Blacks out of their current wobbles.
“The expectations would be 10 times what they were in 2013 when he coached the Highlanders,” Sopoaga said. “We’re talking about the All Blacks here, the most scrutinised and most sought-after job in world rugby.
“Those moments where he’s failed will probably put him in good stead heading into an All Blacks campaign, because he’s gone through it before.
“I’m not saying the All Blacks are in a bad place right now, they’re just not clicking. One of Jamie’s super strengths is bringing a group together, helping them connect and getting the most out of every single person.”
Fekitoa echoed Sopoaga’s comments.
“As a young kid when you start up, he just knows how to deal with each individual and I was one of them and he shaped my career,” Fekitoa said. “I think that’s why we did well back in the day and won the championship.
“I find now, after playing for so long, that it’s not only about rugby, but it’s about the people and I think if he gets the job, it’s going to be great for the team because he’s got that about him.
“He’s a great man on and off the field. You feel the care and the work and efforts he’s put into, to each and everyone in the team, and I was one of them that he looked after off the field as well.”
Dixon said that while he didn’t realise it at the time, he now credits Joseph with playing a key role in his development.
“He learnt a lot in those first three years that moulded him into a more well-rounded coach, and it helped us younger players grow as well,” the former All Blacks and Māori All Blacks loose forward said.
“Any time I go down to Dunedin, I’ll try to give him a text and say hello. Early on, I tried to keep that coach-player relationship, but now I look back and see how much he did for us as players, and for me as a person and professional rugby player. It’s pretty cool to see his progression.”
As things stand, Robertson’s assistants – Scott Hansen, Jason Ryan and Tamati Ellison – remain employed. However, an incoming coach may want to install their own staff, meaning their futures remain uncertain.
Joseph does have a relationship with Hansen from their time with the now defunct Sunwolves and Japan, but his closest coaching ally is Tony Brown, with the pair having worked together in various roles over the years.
Brown did reveal to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast that he would have been keen on applying for the role, but his contract with the Springboks runs until 2027.
He said if he wasn’t committed to his Springboks role, he would be keen to apply for the All Blacks job, adding he was approached by Robertson last year to join the coaching team.
Regardless, NZR still might be keen on making a play for him.
“It’s a package deal, those two,” Dixon, who went on to play three All Blacks tests in 2016, said. “He was his yin to his yang.
“They work off each other really well. Brownie was great for us as players and really good for Jamie as well. He brings detail to the attack and the confidence to pull the trigger and really use your skills.”
Sopoaga believes securing Brown would significantly boost the All Blacks’ World Cup prospects.
“They’re kind of like Shaq and Kobe of the coaching world,” Sopoaga said.
“You need one and the other to make hay. I still back Jamie to do the job, but if you have Tony Brown as well, then you’re really cooking.
“If you have those two together, that’s world-class. The chances of bringing that World Cup home in Australia go up tenfold.”
The Highlanders will be desperate to improve on last season, where they registered just three wins and finished with the wooden spoon, and there is little doubt speculation around Joseph’s future could be impacting preparations for 2026.
They open their pre-season campaign on January 30 against the Crusaders in Timaru before facing the same opponents in the season opener two weeks later.
If Joseph lands the All Blacks role, Sopoaga expects he may coach the first half of the Super Rugby season before handing over the reins.
Dixon, meanwhile, believes the players would support him regardless.
“It’s a huge opportunity to coach the All Blacks,” Dixon said.
“As a player, it’d be pretty hard knowing your team’s leader has a chance to coach the nation.
“There are some great coaches at the Highlanders already, and I think the boys would back him. You can’t really turn down an opportunity to coach your country, especially the All Blacks.”
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.