IN 1986, Kevin Greene toured Argentina with the reserve All Black
squad. In 1987, he was an All Black on their tour to France and Italy.
He went on to coach his beloved Waikato, who beat Otago 40-5 to win
the 1992 national championship, and the following year came his side's
historic win over Gavin Hastings' Lions, and a win over Auckland to
seize the Ranfurly Shield, New Zealand's prestigious provincial
challenge trophy. Auckland had been undefeated in their 64 previous
defences of the title.
My New Zealand rugby magazine tells me that some of his charges in
Waikato rate him as their biggest influence in life.
Now, he's at Glasgow Accies. Get back on your chairs. It seems to have
passed the attention of many people in Scotland, but one of the world's
top coaches is coaching one of Scotland's second-division clubs, as well
as helping out at Greenock Wanderers, Clydebank, and Glasgow Academy.
Why? He was midway through watching the Rangers-Celtic game -- his son
Andrew is now already a staunch Rangers supporter so dad backs Celtic --
and he was forthright. ''I suppose that it's a good chance for me,
partly to get away from the pressures that come with coaching a side
like Waikato,'' he said ''Back home the media attention is just like it
is for the football managers in this country. There is endless
speculation. It's good to get away from that.''
''But more than that, I want the challenge, and I want the challenge
of full-time rugby. There's so much to do.''
He helps Bill MacDonald at the Accies, who he rates highly, and word
has it that his impact has been subtle but immense. He's not a loud
''This is the way we do it back home'' type. Rather, for instance, the
changes he has brought about are in rugby's minutiae, including the way
backs pass. He demands they run upright, elbows in to the waist, when
they give and take the ball, and they are to pass high.
The reason? An upright player doesn't need to break his stride pattern
as he receives a ball, unlike one that has been taught to give and take
a ball at waist height and whose hands will interfere with his lifting
knees. And the eyes can remain on the opposition.
I like that stuff. I remember Bill Dickinson teaching me that on the
No.8 pickup, the right hand came down on the ball first to steady it,
and the left hand scooped it. The opposing scrum half couldn't see the
right hand so it gained time. I also remember reading a book by Ivan
Vodanovich, an old Wellington coach, who said that the most powerful
driving position for a forward was with his legs together, not apart.
Even in a scrum, and he was right.
Greene has that kind of knowledge, he is an expert coach of
threequarter play. He has a four-year contract here in Scotland, and so
much to do, and less experienced coaches than him have been put off by
the ''Glasgow malaise'' before. Players don't turn up on time at
training, sometimes they don't even turn up at all.
''It can be difficult at this time of year when you get only 10 or 12
of your firsts at training for a fortnight, and I think that's the
biggest challenge of all, to change the training and playing habits of
players and youngsters,'' he says ''But I am enjoying it, and the rugby
people are good.''
Perhaps the difference between the Scottish approach and that of
Greene was illustrated when he was told, by a member of another club in
Scotland, that they, too, were having trouble with numbers at training.
''No problem,'' said Greene ''Back home we just get another lot in and
leave the existing ones out.''
Yet he does have one overriding philosophy on the game. ''At Waikato
the emphasis was on enjoyment, and involvement. Everybody had an input
on the team, and the more we enjoyed it the more we won, the more we won
the more we enjoyed it. None of us was making a million dollars out of
rugby after all. Rugby is the kind of game that requires a commitment,
and I want players to have dedication and fun.''
In New Zealand, it transpires, the wives, girlfriends, and mothers of
the players are as welcome and as big a part of club and county rugby as
their men. The men travel to an away game, the women too. The men go to
the post-match dinner, the women too. Hear, hear.
His itinerary is arduous. He is out four nights at various clubs, does
two hours each afternoon at the school, goes to two games on a Saturday,
and attends mini-rugby on Sundays. Now that is commitment.
But so far nobody outside the clubs involved in the deal has been
making use of Greene's talents. He may well be very busy, but it would
be fair to assume that Greene would be available for others to consult
should they wish. ''First I'd like to make an impact on what I'm doing,
and then consider a higher level if anyone asked me,'' says Greene.
''But for now I see a big enough challenge.''
Greene is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in the world. We are a
country which, thanks to Jim Telfer, is willing to learn from everyone
whether it be gridiron or Rugby League. Perhaps it won't be long before
we start to learn from someone on our own doorstep. If we don't, we may
well be mugs.
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