Buck steers clear of Chiefs queue

By CHRIS RATTUE

Departing North Harbour coach Wayne "Buck" Shelford, one of the legendary All Black captains, has ruled himself out of the race to find the new Chiefs coach.

The Chiefs will invite applications to find their third coach in as many seasons, after John Mitchell was named the new All Black coach yesterday.

Chief executive Gary Dawson said the franchise wanted the best person, with the right leadership and tactical skills, and it was not important whether he came from the region.

Mitchell's assistant coach at the Chiefs, Kevin Greene, will see Dawson today to express his strong interest in taking over.

Given the Chiefs' revival this year, Greene is probably the frontrunner. There was a preliminary suggestion that Mitchell may want him in the All Blacks set-up.

Greene is almost certain to be joined in the race for the Chiefs job by Northland's Waikato-born coach, Bryce Woodward.

Samoa coach John Boe, the former Waikato coach and Highlanders assistant this season, was considering his position last night but did not rule out another attempt at winning a Super 12 head coaching position.

Taranaki's Colin Cooper and Bay of Plenty and national sevens coach Gordon Tietjens had last night not considered the situation and did not want to comment, and Matt Te Pou virtually ruled himself out.

Te Pou, the former Chiefs assistant coach who has just been reappointed for two more years as Maori coach, owns a business and farm, so prefers to concentrate his rugby energies on the Maori team.

Shelford has told North Harbour chief executive Doug Rollerson that this will be his final season there, and he is likely to take a coaching job overseas.

Shelford was disappointed at not being given an interview for the All Black position, and said it would be two years before the only Super 12 job he was interested in - with the Blues - might be vacant.

He was eager to move up the coaching ladder, but as an Aucklander he had no affinity with the Chiefs.

"Coaching is very tough in New Zealand and you've got to have a feeling for the team you are coaching. I'm just not interested in the Chiefs job."

Shelford said that if he remained with North Harbour, it would slow the development of other coaches there. After four years as head coach, following three years in other roles, it was time to move on.

Woodward will consult his family but indicated he wanted the job.

Greene, assistant to Ross Cooper and Mitchell over the past two seasons, said he could build on the foundation Mitchell laid this year.

"It's a job I really want. My delivery might be a bit different from his. I'm not quite as direct as he can be. But I learned a lot from John about things like accountability and expectations ... and he has done a lot of very detailed planning already for next year."