The Blues start a new era as they open their Super Rugby Pacific season against the Fijian Drua in Whangārei on Saturday afternoon. Liam Napier sat down with the man charged with solving their finals funk.
Two weeks into pre-season training Vern Cotter made his presence known at the Blues.
Characterised by his direct, no-nonsense approach, ‘Stern Vern’ immediately pushed the Blues outside their comfort zone by throwing the squad into a full-blown opposed match behind closed doors.
Pre-season training typically involves a series of conditioning sessions before launching into trial games. The vastly experienced Cotter, the leader the Blues hope will elevate them to championship status as he assumes the reins from Leon MacDonald, shelved those norms.
“Second week in he put us straight into 15 against 15 for a training session,” injured Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu recalls. “That was certainly a shock to the system but it will pay off where we need it.”
Such a surprise session offers an insight into the tone Cotter has set with the Blues from the off.
“I wanted to see what they’ve been doing, what their go to was and how much work I had to do to change that,” Cotter tells the Herald as he prepares to lead his first Super Rugby campaign. “Rather than having a one-on-one conversation I threw them in against each other so I could see what needed to shift.”
Welcome to the authentically uncompromising Cotter way.
After 18 years coaching abroad – from France to Scotland and Fiji – Cotter is relishing a homecoming of sorts. He’s swapped Te Puke farm life for Mt Eden but don’t be fooled into thinking the city surrounds have softened his assertive attitude. Not a chance.
While Cotter has evolved throughout his career, his distinctive traits remain as prevalent as ever.
“Vern is a bit old school but he’s got a good eye for things around the team,” Tuipulotu says. “A lot of our forward work has been good through the pre-season and he brings a good edge. He’s not scared to make a few changes if need be.”
Tough love could be exactly the shift the Blues need. While they significantly improved during MacDonald’s five-year tenure, the Blues stagnated to an ugly semifinal exit last year. When it mattered most, they crumbled in the last two seasons, seemingly lacking the mental resolve to perform in the finals.
With the Blues hiring the 62-year-old Cotter and the Highlanders luring the 54-year-old Jamie Joseph, both teams are adopting a back-to-the-future approach as they seek a harder edge from proven mentors.
As former All Blacks prop Angus Taʻavao explains, the Blues rapidly learned Cotter will constantly drive demanding standards.
“He’s Stern Vern,” Taʻavao says. “The beauty of Vern is he knows what he wants. He’s honest. He doesn’t tip toe around things. Some coaches you don’t know whether you can approach them. Vern is very much an open book, open door. He’s from Devonport and he’s passionate about the Blues winning this competition. When you feel that passion it carries you along. He’s a good man but he’ll challenge you.”
Cotter makes no apologies for his leadership style.
“That’s the only way to do it. It’s easy for me to live with myself,” Cotter says. “Straight up, honest, is the key to forming any relationship and trust. If it’s a tough conversation get it over and done with and walk away knowing everything is clear and transparent.”
How have the players responded?
“You’d have to ask them. I don’t know what they say when they walk away. Some of them are probably happy – some of them probably aren’t.”
Sure, Cotter is confrontational but All Blacks wing Caleb Clarke suggests there’s more to him than the gruff exterior.
“He’s definitely someone who is not scared to voice his opinion,” Clarke says. “He knows when he needs to be hard but he has a good balance. He takes the time to meet the boys and know who you are and what to demand out of you. He’s getting us to compete against each other - and if we’re not he’ll let us know.”
Cotter’s rugby outlook is shaped through extensive experiences. The former Crusaders assistant and Bay of Plenty head coach, who captured the Ranfurly Shield alongside Joe Schmidt, will attempt to build on MacDonald’s foundations by moulding the Blues into a physically dominant, technically strong team that mixes astute tactical decisions with instinctive brilliance.
“Our objective is to make ourselves as hard as possible to break down,” Cotter says. “And we want to break teams down as quickly as possible. That’s my philosophy so we’ll base our conversations around that.
“I’m trying to bring a different style to what other teams are playing – a bit of a mix from the Northern Hemisphere. There’s a French influence in there for sure. Looking at some of the top sides in Europe we’re dragging things from Ireland and adapting it to the skills of this team so they can take advantage of space and opportunities.”
Alongside Paul Tito and Greg Feek, the latter the former All Blacks scrum coach, Cotter will demand the Blues forward pack consistently leads the charge.
“I’ve got two good forwards coaches so I keep an eye on that. You have good conversations. You always try to bring an edge to what you’re trying to achieve. When you’ve got the backline we have your forward pack is critical.”
Hoskins Sotutu, as he bids to regain his place in the All Blacks after falling out of favour last year, and fellow loose forward Anton Segner have impressed but Cotter saves his lavish praise for playmaker Stephen Perofeta.
“Stephen will be really pushing to start in the No 10 jersey for the All Blacks. He’s been outstanding. He’s a quiet, thoughtful leader. He sees space and understands the game. They’re forming a good group of decision-makers around how we operate on the field.”
Resting All Blacks Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane, Clarke, Dalton Papali’i, Ofa Tuʻungafasi and Finlay Christie from two regular season matches is a new concept for Cotter to confront.
“Juggling those things becomes almost more difficult than injuries. There will be some tough conversations later. If you want to be successful you’ve got to look after your playing group. The good thing is Razor and his group have been involved in it so we can have good conversations around that.”
With a two-year contract at this stage, Cotter has a finite window to deliver success. Tony Brown’s short-term addition, while new attack coach Jason O’Halloran is on health leave, adds another dimension but as a collective Cotter wasted no time laying out title aspirations to his team.
“If you don’t speak about it you’re not going to get there. You make it very clear about your objectives and the process to achieve them. There’s 11 other teams doing the same thing – they’ve written something on the board – so it’s about our determination and honesty amongst ourselves that will get us up each week.
“There’s maturity needed around how we back up performances and mental toughness. We like to think we’ll crank it up and try and get close – and then get close again. We’re in this to win so let’s go.
“At Clermont we lost three finals before we won the fourth and they’d never won a title. These guys want to do that but they must knuckle down and work on themselves. That will be the key to being successful.”
Come the business end of this year’s campaign last year’s horror semifinal exit to the Crusaders will loom large. With a largely stacked squad at his disposal, that juncture will prove the true test of Cotter’s tough love.
“There’s levers around performance. That last game will bring an edge. We can’t reference it all the time but it’s in the back of the mind that you’d like to get to a position where you acquit yourself better at the end of the season.”
The All Blacks star made a brief appearance at his new club.