Super Rugby Pacific final: Blues’ Vern Cotter and Chiefs’ Clayton McMillan’s long-held friendship sets scene

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan (left) and Blues coach Vern Cotter will put their friendship aside for 80 minutes. Photo / Photosport

The vastly experienced head coach and his former captain. The mentor and once mentee. The Super Rugby final will be won and lost by the men in the middle but those responsible for charting the Blues and Chiefs to that stage, and plotting the intricacies of this defining contest, share a decades-old friendship that flips to high rivalry on Saturday.

Clayton McMillan first met Vern Cotter in France. It was 1998, with Cotter at the backend of his playing career for Lourdes. They shared vinos with mutual friends during a night out in Pau.

Two years later, Cotter returned home to start his extensive coaching career with Bay of Plenty and link with McMillan, who captained the team from No 8 in a century of service for his province.

Authentic, empathetic, honest, uncompromising, concise, caring, passionate. Cotter and McMillan – both No 8s in their playing days – are similarly staunch coaches and characters. Therefore, it’s no surprise they bonded 24 years ago when Cotter assumed the reins at Bay of Plenty and during their three seasons together at the Steamers.

Their reflections on each other with the Herald this week, on the eve of the Super Rugby final, paint a picture of how their respective traits have moulded the Blues and Chiefs to rise within touching distance of a treasured title.

“I loved him as a coach,” McMillan recalls. “He was Stern Vern back then. He was firm but fair. He had great insight into the game. He developed a culture where you worked hard but enjoyed each other’s company and a beer after the game. He was good for celebrating success.

“When he was stern you always knew what he was saying came from a place of care. He didn’t suffer fools. He wanted you to work hard but he also brought a lot of structure and innovation to the Steamers team at the time that only accelerated once Joe Schmidt came into the fold.

“He was a coach I wanted to play well for. His style resonated with me.”

Cotter digs deep into his memory to discuss McMillan, an imposing figure steeped in mana and deeply connected to the Chiefs region, with genuine affection.

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan and Blues coach Vern Cotter enjoy a chat at the Super Rugby Pacific round 15 match at Eden Park on June 1. Photo / Photosport

“I’ve known Clayton a long time. He’s a Bay of Plenty man through and through. I played for the Bay as a loose forward and he came after. He took it up another level around his leadership and qualities as a player. His ability to process information and communicate that always impressed me but also his connection to the blood and guts of the game.

“I appreciated him when I was coaching. Being involved in the Bay team, we didn’t have a lot of stars in those days. There were good people like himself, Wayne Ormond, Glen Jackson, Paul Tupai. They were the backbone of the team.

“He’s always been a warrior in spirit. That’s a good combination. You’ve seen that come through in his coaching career.”

After three years under Cotter at the Bay, McMillan decided to finish his playing career with four years in Japan. The following season, the Steamers captured the coveted Ranfurly Shield for the first time after 18 previous failed attempts.

McMillan explains: “Vern did a pretty good job of trying to convince me to stay but it was probably a good decision to leave in the end because a young No 8 called Colin Bourke came into the union and he was way more talented than me.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to walk away because of what the union was building at the time, and that all came to fruition when they went and won the Ranfurly Shield and enjoyed another couple of years of vintage rugby.”

Since those glory days Cotter and McMillan maintained contact. There were coffee catch-ups when Cotter returned to his Te Puke farm while coaching in France and Scotland. Now Wallabies coach Schmidt and former Bay of Plenty manager Craig Morris are among their mutual friends. And when Cotter coached Fiji, he brought the team to train at the Chiefs base.

“It’s one of those relationships where there’s mutual respect,” McMillan said. “It’s always good to catch up and chew the fat. We had a little five-minute chat in the middle of the field when we played the Blues last time. Those moments are always good to reminisce on the memories.”

Three weeks on from that final regular-season match, Cotter and McMillan will share another firm handshake and yarn before and after the battle between their teams on the Eden Park turf.

This time, though, the stakes are significant as the Chiefs seek to deny the Blues’ quest to end their 21-year title drought.

“I’ve been a massive admirer of him,” McMillan said. “When you start coaching you’re a reflection of the people who have coached you.”

Both McMillan and Cotter are out to break title droughts for their respective franchises. Photo / Photosport

Those people include former Bay of Plenty coach turned sevens guru Gordon Tietjens. He taught McMillan the value of work ethic, resilience and nutrition.

“There’s aspects of his coaching I still use to this day. And there’s a lot of stuff Vern and Joe brought into the environment, particularly around care, being upfront and honest, no substitute for hard work, celebrating successes, taking time to enjoy what you do, those are things that have really stuck with me from my exposure to Vern.

“A lot of water has run under the bridge since then. I’d like to think I’ve evolved and now have a greater understanding of what my flaws and strengths are but there’s no doubt Vern’s had an influence on me.

“I knew when his name popped up at the Blues he’d shake a few trees and make a difference because that was my experience. Everywhere he’s gone he’s enjoyed some success. He’s a smart coach.”

The 62-year-old Cotter and 49-year-old McMillan stand at contrasting ends of the coaching spectrum. Cotter’s experience has, to this point, proved the perfect foil to drill down and iron out the Blues’ flaws through a direct, combative, forward-powered approach.

McMillan’s homegrown qualities have transformed the Chiefs from one of their lowest ebbs under Warren Gatland, guiding the franchise to successive finals. In doing so, he has charted his own trajectory to an inevitable elevation to the test scene.

This weekend, though, they share a single-minded focus.

Ensconced in the same Bay of Plenty team at the turn of this century, neither envisioned they would once sit in opposing coaching boxes for the Super Rugby final.

Such symmetry is but one strand of the tapestry waiting to be woven into history.

“Clayton’s leadership has made him a natural coach,” Cotter said. “His ability to understand the game and communicate strategies and have a feeling for it as well. He’s got that instinct. It was no surprise he’s made his way in the coaching business and done well.

“I’ve watched his teams play and can see his personality in them. That’s important.

“It’s going to be a good battle. I’ll appreciate seeing him as I always do but the game is the game. The gloves come off and then we go back to being mates.”

Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010, and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.