Frank Endacott has named three New Zealand Rugby League board members who he believes want him sacked as Kiwi coach - and vowed to quit after the World Cup later this year.
Speaking from Wigan, Endacott said he was bitterly disappointed at the reaction of NZRL officials Bud Lisle, Bill McEntee and Bernie Wood to the 0-52 hammering his team received from the Kangaroos in the Anzac test in Sydney.
Endacott has decided to walk away from the game in New Zealand when the World Cup ends in late November, and he has challenged his accusers to name a replacement at, or soon after, a special meeting on May 12.
"I've recommended to [NZRL president] Gerald Ryan and [chief executive] Gary Allcock that whoever they choose to be the next Kiwi coach be my assistant at the World Cup so he gets a taste of it and gets to know the players," Endacott said.
The longest-serving Kiwi coach of the modern era and one of the most successful of all time, Endacott had previously planned to decide his future after the World Cup in Britain and France.
Since 1994 his teams have never lost to any country other than perennial world champions Australia - nine defeats against three wins - and he has lifted the Kiwis above Great Britain with six wins, one draw, and no losses.
Endacott said: "The over-reaction of two new board members and one who has been there for a while has really disappointed me. I thought they had more faith in me than that."
- NZPA
