Black Ferns head coach Greg Smith has pulled out of his team's upcoming tour to Canada following his misdemeanor in a club match.
In reality, Smith would not have been eligible to coach the Black Ferns anyway after Waikato Rugby's decision to suspend him from coaching for 14 weeks due to his verbal abuse of match officials.
According to a New Zealand Rugby statement, the organisation and Smith yesterday agreed that the decision to step down was in the best interests of the team.
New Zealand Rugby will appoint an interim head coach this week and the Black Ferns tour will go ahead as planned. They will play Canada, USA and England in the series from June 27 to July 5.
Smith is said to have abused assistant referee Josh Bull in his position as coach of the Fraser-Tech premier side in their match against University. Smith was sent from the ground but is said to have continued coaching via a walkie-talkie.
