League: Dreaming of world dominance

Brian McClennan

Being part of a history-making team will be no guarantee of selection for a handful of Kiwis in next month's defence of the Tri Nations.

The Kiwis shocked the league world last November when they trounced Australia 24-0 at Elland Road, but Brian McClennan says there will be some casualties when his Tri Nations squad is announced soon after the NRL grand final on October 1.

"There will be changes," the Kiwis coach warns when contemplating his squad. "There has to be. Everything has evolved. Time waits for no one. I love the players but I loved what we achieved [last year] and that means there will be changes. That's the way it has to be."

And with that, McClennan alludes to the fact some big names might not make the cut this time around.

It's fraught with difficulty trying to predict who they might be but Awen Guttenbeil and Lance Hohaia have already been overlooked for the train-on squad. Likewise, Ali Lauitiiti has failed to find the form of past years, while Clinton Toopi and Paul Rauhihi have endured seasons they would rather forget.

In his short international coaching career, McClennan has forged a reputation as one of the nice guys of rugby league. He's approachable, affable, upbeat and engaging. Beneath the genial exterior, however, lies a more hard-nosed side to the self-confessed league addict.

Ask Sione Faumuina. The disgraced former Warrior, who was sacked from the club for repeated alcohol breaches, has experienced the obdurate side of McClennan and is unlikely to draw on a Kiwis jersey while he's in charge.

You get the impression Bluey, as he's more commonly known, rates strength of character as highly as strength and ability.

In many respects, he seems intent on establishing something of a dynasty during his tenure and he's spent time recently with two who achieved this with their own sides - Crusaders coach Robbie Deans and Wests Tigers and former Canberra supremo Tim Sheens.

He's also dropped in on the Bulldogs, Roosters and Warriors, and spent hours poring over videos from NRL and UK Super League games, as well as the Auckland Lions side he coaches in the Bartercard Cup, all in the hope of finding an edge over his rivals.

"Anything that I think can help," he explains. "It might just be an idea for an activity or confirm some of the things you're already doing. Because I'm the Kiwis coach and not an NRL coach, I'm able to visit other clubs because I'm not a threat."

Not yet, although it would be naive to think he doesn't have aspirations to end up in the NRL eventually. McClennan was recently linked to the vacant Sydney Roosters job but, amid the speculation, the Kiwis coach was little more than a bystander throughout.

Despite the allure of guiding an NRL club, and a glamour one at that, there's a much greater prize in McClennan's sights - the 2008 World Cup - and he didn't trumpet his name in the hope someone in the NRL was listening.

It is hard to imagine the former Auckland five-eighths giving up what he has just yet to join the ranks of the NRL - and he would have to give it up because of an NZRL rule that stipulates the Kiwis coach must be resident in New Zealand.

"I don't think about it," McClennan says casually when the subject of an NRL posting comes up. "I'm not interested in thinking about anything other than the Kiwis and Mt Albert [Auckland]. You see, I get the blinkers on. Even now, we have got Mt Albert playing [in the Bartercard Cup final against Canterbury] on Monday and I'm thinking about that.

"The 2008 World Cup is what I am aiming for. That's our dream with all the Kiwi boys.

"We are very proud of what we achieved last year... but our dream is to build on that and become a very powerful nation in rugby league by 2008."

What happened at Elland Road last November was a good start - and the sight of McClennan jumping around in unbridled joy when the Kiwis triumphed was one of the enduring images of the 2005 sporting year.

Although he was brought back to Earth with a thud when the Kangaroos posted 50 points in this year's Anzac test in Brisbane, and when he learned a few lessons about pre-game jousting, McClennan has a taste for success.

This time the Tri Nations will be played in New Zealand and Australia, which will bring positives. But the series will also produce its own pressures because the Kiwis will be playing in front of an expectant public.

New Zealanders will get the rare opportunity to see the Kiwis play a series on home soil as well as assess McClennan first-hand.

In many respects, McClennan has the hardest job of the three top international coaches because his players are scattered throughout two competitions (Australia picks from the NRL and Great Britain's squad is drawn almost exclusively from the Super League).

He has also to contend with the fact that New Zealanders playing in the Super League grand final will miss the opening Tri Nations game against Australia on October 14.

There are some advantages in coaching a side in the Bartercard Cup. McClennan is able to experiment in a competition, where, while it is still important, the stakes aren't quite so high.

There are bound to be some curve balls, like when he moved Shontayne Hape from the centres to loose forward for the Tri Nations final, and a little foxing. After all, he's been thinking about it from the moment Ruben Wiki lifted last year's trophy.

On Tuesday, he takes his first training run. No doubt, there will be a little reminiscing before getting down to business.

"I went up to York the day after [the Tri Nations final] to see a mate with my wife. We were having a beer and I was thinking, 'I don't know if there's anything better than this'," McClennan remembers with a smile.

"Sure, to win the NRL is huge. But when you have the Kiwis playing Australia, it's the best against the best.

"That's pretty hard to beat, and I wouldn't mind doing what we did again."

A few hundred thousand New Zealand league fans wouldn't mind seeing that again, too.

2006 Tri Nations draw

October 14 - NZ vs Australia, Mt Smart Stadium
October 21 - Australia vs NZ, Telstra Dome (Melbourne)
October 28 - NZ vs Great Britain, Jade Stadium
November 4 - Australia vs Great Britain, Aussie Stadium (Sydney)
November 11 - NZ vs Great Britain, Westpac Stadium
November 18 - Australia vs Great Britain, Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane)
November 25 - Final, Aussie Stadium (Sydney)