Rugby: Auckland get down to picking new coach

By Wynne Gray

The Auckland Rugby Union considered a shortlist of National Provincial Championship contenders last night in the first stage of some crucial coaching decisions for the province.

Step one is appointing an NPC coach to replace Jed Rowlands, who was sacked before he started.

An assistant coach, Wayne Pivac, is already installed and in the perverse way in which the ARU is operating at the moment, the new coach will have to be compatible with the assistant rather than the other way round.

So with Pivac responsible for working with the forwards, the coach by most logic, is likely to be one known for his work with backs.

The only application made public came from former Waikato coach John Boe, a coach who would fit that criterion.

Boe is working with Ross Cooper and New Zealand A for the next few weeks before taking his national under-19 side for their test against Australia in Sydney on August 28.

If Boe can work in those duties he would also qualify under the need some had for an Aucklander to be the NPC coach. While he made his playing and coaching mark in the Waikato, Boe was born and educated in Auckland.

The shortlist may be trimmed to a handful of candidates by now, with interviews and a decision expected some time next week.

Stage two for the ARU to consider will be the choice for the Blues coaching team.

Boe has also indicated he is a candidate for that job. He is after a Super 12 coaching position and stood down from the Waikato work last year in a bid to move into that area.

When the New Zealand union made it clear at last season's Blues selection meeting that Mac McCallion was staying with the Blues, but only as assistant, then the head coach had to be a back coach. The choice came down to either Rowlands or Boe and Rowlands, the Taranaki coach, won through.

But he lasted just the one Super 12 season with the Blues and now Boe is back and after both the NPC and Super 12 portfolios.