Tana Umaga, the new head coach at the Blues, says he would have worked with John Kirwan and was negotiating a contract on that basis before Kirwan suddenly quit last Friday.
Tana Umaga has been handed the job to try to resurrect the Blues.
The Countie Manukau coach and former All Blacks captain has taken over from Sir John Kirwan, who stepped down from the role last week.
Umaga's three-year appointment, confirmed jointly by the Blues and New Zealand Rugby, was announced today at the site of what will be the new base for the Blues, at Alexandra Park in Auckland.
"I am excited at the opportunity and of course understand there's a big challenge ahead for us all," said Umaga. "I know there are a lot of very good players signed on and I look forward to working with them.
"There's no quick fix to turn things around. It is going to take a lot of very hard work which will be my focus. I want to let our performances on the field do the talking."
Umaga has enjoyed an impressive career on and off the field, as a centurion for Wellington, 122 caps for the Hurricanes and 74 appearances for the All Blacks, including 21 as captain before his international retirement in 2005.
He was a player-coach, head coach and director of rugby at Toulon in France for four seasons where he coached the team from the second division to the Top 14 in his first year in charge and also to a European final. It is widely recognised he played a major role in Toulon's rise to now be one of the most successful teams in Europe.
In 2010, he returned to New Zealand to take up a coaching role at Counties Manukau where he again started as a player-coach before moving into an assistant coaching role and then head coach.
He has been responsible for one of the most successful periods in Counties Manukau's history which included being promoted to the ITM Cup Premiership in his first year as head coach and winning the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in their history. This year he has also been assistant coach of the New Zealand Under-20s who were undefeated at the recent Junior World Cup and won the final.
"the Board of the Blues has agreed unanimously that we have the right person for the job, and are thrilled Tana has accepted what we believe is both a hugely exciting opportunity and a massive challenge," Blues chairman Tony Carter said.
"We understand our fans and sponsors, along with everyone on and off the field in this club, are not satisfied with our results especially this year.
"At the same time, in the two years since we have been a stand-alone organisation, we have developed a solid business from scratch. Within the playing unit we have begun to develop a positive culture and beliefs, while we've worked hard on our relationships within the region and on identification and recruitment of future Super Rugby players.
"We will work tirelessly in support of Tana to assist him in now pulling this together and guiding our on-field performance to a sustained, competitive playing unit."
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew welcomed Umaga's appointment.
"Tana is very well equipped to step up to this challenging role. He has spent valuable time in the ITM Cup environment with Counties Manukau, has coached at the top level in France and was part of the coaching team that steered New Zealand under-20s to success in the recent World Championship," said Tew.
"He has made the successful transition from professional player to coach so is very aware of the demands on athletes and what it takes to succeed at the highest level of the game. We wish Tana all the best and will certainly ensure he has all the support he needs to allow him to make his mark."
Umaga will take up his position fulltime at the end of his duties with Counties Manukau in the ITM Cup this year. Appointments to fill the vacant assistant coach roles will be made within the next two months.
Image 1 of 8: Graham Henry (1996-1998): Played 39 - Won 32 - Lost 6 - Drew 1. Two titles (1996, 1997). Photo / Getty
Tana Umaga timeline 1994 - Makes provincial playing debut for Wellington 1996 - Makes Super Rugby debut in inagrural season for the Hurricanes 1997 - All Blacks debut against Fiji, scoring a try in his first test 2004 - Named All Blacks captain 2005 - Leads All Blacks to 3-0 series win over touring British and Irish Lions. Plays 74th and final test on end of year tour. 2006 - Retires from international rugby. 2006 - Signs with French side Toulon, plays seven games 2007 - Plays 100th and final game for Wellington 2008 - Coach of Toulon 2009 - Backs coach for Toulon 2010 - Named Counties Manukau coach
