One of the most incomprehensible aspects of Glenn Moore’s resignation is the pattern of events between 26 August 2017, the final of the last World Cup, and the end of the Black Ferns’ ill-fated Northern tour last autumn.
Reporting on that final I commented: ‘[at half-time] Glenn Moore put on his thinking-cap and won the trophy.’
His standing could hardly have been higher.
The Review published last week listed a mountain of faults at management level, as well as grave shortcomings up the line with NZR itself.
It was well nigh impossible to imagine how a newly formed Black Ferns squad could accept his survival in their midst during the run-up to the World Cup.
In his statement Moore defends his position and denies making the remarks alleged by Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate. But he realises that it would not be in anyone’s interests to continue in post.
The arrival of Mike Cron (January) and Wayne Smith (4 April) as special assistants was an inkling of how things were trending. Smith’s appointment came exactly a week before the Review.
Moore was a huge admirer of Smith’s coaching abilities – like most coaches around – but the need to bring top men on board was an admission of current inadequacies.
The Review had questioned the way coaching appointments were made.
According to Joseph Pearson (stuff.co.nz) even the 75-year-old Sir Graham Henry was on hand at a training session in Christchurch last week.
Now comes another hiatus as NZR hunts for a replacement. For all we know, they may already have had a Plan B in place; most sensible organisations do. They hope to make an announcement within a week.
Once the new leader is in place, will she or he want to make further adjustments to the elite squad? It’s no sort of way to prepare for the biggest event on the rugby calendar. No new coach is likely to stick to the old methods; the squad will have to adapt fast.
The stand-out candidate is Allan Bunting, who coached the Black Ferns 7s team to gold at the Tokyo Olympics. He also headed Chiefs Manawa who won the recent Aupiki tournament. He will have few doubts about the seriousness of the undertaking, should an invitation drop on the front-door mat.
Then comes the problem of sorting out the back-up staff. Those who accompanied the tour of Europe didn’t emerge from the Review any better than the boss himself.
And beyond the immediate drama an older question persists. How do the Black Ferns deal with the dual demands of World Cups in Sevens and Fifteens? They follow like the proverbial buses after an hour’s wait.
For the players’ sake we must hope that the air has now cleared; they will give whole-hearted support to the incomer, and vice versa.
