Kirwan out of a job but not out of ideas

Former All Black and Italy coach John Kirwan is spreading his thirst for coaching knowledge to French rugby, Japanese rugby, Serie A soccer in Italy and NBA basketball in the US.

Kirwan, named in recent reports as a contender for Scotland coach, a job that last week went instead to Frank Hadden, said he is instead looking at club rugby in Europe but is also using his "down time" to increase his knowledge of coaching techniques and the cult of personality among major sporting coaches.

Kirwan is disarmingly frank about the process of selection of the Scottish coach - supposedly a straight battle between him and Edinburgh coach Hadden, the preferred option of many Scots after a disastrous two years with the national team in the hands of an 'outsider' in former Wallaby Matt Williams.

"My agent sent my CV in and that was the last I heard," said Kirwan. "No interview, no phone call, no email, nothing. So I am annoyed that they have taken to using my name in public like I was a serious contender when it is pretty clear they wanted Hadden.

"It's one of the things in modern rugby that I don't like - sometimes they force people to go through a process when they already know what the outcome will be. It's pretty distasteful. People go for interviews with no hope of getting the job - and all they are doing is being seen to be politically correct or making it seem like there is a race when they have already decided a winner. All to make themselves look good. Why don't they just say who they want?"

In any case, said Kirwan, while he would never denigrate the honour of coaching a national side, he feels his career would now benefit from coaching a club side in Europe.

"That's where I'm focusing right now. I need the day-in, day-out, intensity of club rugby over here. There's almost 30 weeks of full-on football. I'd like to experience that."

But Kirwan is also expanding his knowledge of coaching techniques by arranging times with leading clubs in major sports. He is also interested in the way coaches also have to be managers, media managers, personalities and a focus for their sport.

He is soon heading off to Biarritz, French rugby champions, where he will sit in on coaching sessions with old opponent and friend, former French winger Patrice Lagisquet.

"I'll be in seventh heaven," he said. "Not only will I have rugby and Patrice and Biarritz is a great place but there is an added attraction that [former All Black and Wellington winger] Mike Clamp owns the surf shop there. I'll have coaching and rugby in the morning, maybe surfing in the afternoon and I wouldn't be surprised if the evenings didn't involve a beer or two with Clampy."

Kirwan is also seeking a similar time - minus the surfing and Clamp - with Juventus, so he can learn about their coaching techniques in the pressure cooker of Italian football. He is also talking to an NBA club, thought to be the San Antonio Spurs, so he is learning different things from different sports and applying them to his own career.

"I decided as soon as Italy let me go that I was going to make this time as productive as possible," said Kirwan, who has recently returned from a brief cocahing spell in Japan with his old club NEC. He will make further coaching trips there while he is on his voyage of discovery to, as he said, "keep the wolf from the door".

Kirwan is also highly interested in the cult of personality surrounding many top coaches. Even in his Italy days, Kirwan was noted for his snappy Italian wardrobe, smart sunglasses and outgoing personality. In truth, Kirwan has always been this way, right from the first days when he was promoted as a surprisingly mature teenager into the ranks of Auckland and All Black rugby.

"One of the things that interests me is that the future will be that a coach is not just a coach. As the money gets bigger, so the personalities get bigger. The whole deal in many sports goes beyond what happens on the training field and I am interested in both elements.

"The coach has to impart knowledge, sure, but he also has to manage some big egos who are earning millions of dollars and they have to be good with the media.

"That interests me and I am keen to learn what I can about how it's done and how they handle all these different elements."

Kirwan also spent some time with the All Blacks when he was in New Zealand during the Lions tour and also spent time with the Warriors, all as part of his coaching OE.

He has two homes - in New Zealand and Italy - and, while he is contemplating moving his family (with his three children) to whatever coaching job he ends up with, he isn't considering a move back to New Zealand.

"Maybe sometime soon, I know I'll always want to come home," he said. "But I think I will look for a two- or three-year coaching stint over here and then maybe come home to New Zealand - we will see."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY