Rugby: Time to unravel, reassemble Highlanders

It has been a tough few years for the Highlanders, who have lost 26 of their 35 games under coach...
It has been a tough few years for the Highlanders, who have lost 26 of their 35 games under coach Glenn Moore since 2008. But within the franchise, Southland has celebrated Ranfurly Shield success and North Otago has developed into a force in the lower division. North Otago boss Colin Jackson believes Otago must get better to allow the Highlanders to succeed. Photo by Criag Baxter.
Times are tough for the Highlanders but North Otago Rugby Football Union chief executive Colin Jackson says it is too easy to blame the coach. He argues it is time for Otago and the Highlanders to be separated, and believes the Highlanders cannot be successful until Otago does a better job of identifying and nurturing local talent.

The perilous state of the Highlanders' playing results and financial wellbeing are, in my opinion, issues far beyond the culpability or responsibility of the coaching team.

When times are tough, it is so easy or fashionable to shove the blame squarely at the feet of the coach or coaches.

[comment caption=Has Colin Jackson got it right?]Glenn Moore is an extremely talented, lateral-thinking coach. He has excellent man-management skills and doesn't pass the buck when it comes to accepting responsibility.

Glenn and his coaching team are the men to take the Highlanders forward and we should all be working to give them the tools, which in simplistic terms, are some match-winning players in pivotal positions.

We should look closely at what Glenn has achieved. He has made All Blacks out of Adam Thomson, Tom Donnelly and Ben Smith. He has helped rejuvenate Jimmy Cowan and made him a far more mature and complete All Black.

I pose the question: If Dan Carter was at 10 for the Highlanders, how many more games would we have won this year?

The Highlanders are a couple of high-class, local players away from being at the other end of the table, in my opinion.

So, how do we fix the current predicament or pending disaster?

I would start by saying that, fundamentally, the franchise in recent times has simply failed to capture the imagination of three provincial rugby unions and their communities.

In North Otago, we have lost empathy and passion for the Highlanders through not having players that we can identify with and call our own.

North Otago, Central Otago and South Otago are in the wilderness when it comes to producing Highlanders. That is one-third of our franchise that is non-productive.

I can assure you the players are there and waiting, but until we address talent identification and look after the promise coming through, we will always be trawling through the cast-off bucket north of the Waitaki River.

Over the last four years, North Otago's three most promising young players have ended up under the Canterbury umbrella, and our star halfback from 2007 was snapped up by Hawkes Bay. I don't think I need to remind you where Richie McCaw started his rugby career.

I would lay a lot of the blame for the position we now find ourselves in squarely at the door of the Otago Rugby Academy.

In my five years with North Otago, I have never been phoned once regarding any promising players. Mike Mullins, North Otago's coach for four years, will tell you exactly the same. I sometimes wonder if they recognise the fact that we have two high schools producing boys with talent and untapped potential.

Why is Southland rugby so strong at this moment? It is because they have looked after their own and nurtured talent - their own talent, that bleeds for their team-mates and for their community. Southland is not a one-year wonder. They have been smart and planned well.

If Otago does not go well in 2010, are we going to call for the heads of the two new coaches? Steve Martin took the blame for the last few seasons but the problem is deeper, and until you dig out the decay and get the best out of Otago rugby, our franchise will continue to haemorrhage.

Otago rugby doing well is the catalyst for franchise success - simple but true.

It is time for Otago and the Highlanders to go their separate ways. Both should be stand-alone and accountable. There should be two separate offices, with management dedicated to one role.

We need to unravel and reassemble the franchise from Bluff to Glenorchy to Glenavy. We need to look after our own, create pathways, see outwards and not inwards and banish the tribal and historical thinking that seems to envelop too many, too often.

The clock is ticking.

 

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