1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,120
Speaker 1: Shock move yesterday, still not quite sure why it happened.

2
00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,520
Speaker 1: The assistant coach of the All Blacks, Leon McDonald, has

3
00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:09,680
Speaker 1: quit after disagreements with head coach Scott Raisor Robertson. He

4
00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:13,080
Speaker 1: says it was a mutual decision as they couldn't agree

5
00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:20,680
Speaker 1: on strategy any minute now. Maybe this is how awkward

6
00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,240
Speaker 1: it was when they were coaching together. Maybe that's why

7
00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:24,760
Speaker 1: he started. He has to go here.

8
00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:26,880
Speaker 2: It is just a little bit of philosophy on rugby,

9
00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,240
Speaker 2: how it was played, and you just didn't quite click

10
00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:33,600
Speaker 2: in different aspects.

11
00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,040
Speaker 1: Tony Johnson is a rugby commentator. He's with us Tony,

12
00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,479
Speaker 1: good morning, Nice to have you on the show. Good morning, right,

13
00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,400
Speaker 1: what do you think really went on here? What's the juice?

14
00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:47,600
Speaker 2: Well? I think there's a couple of schools of thought

15
00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:53,160
Speaker 2: about this. Ryan. One is that, as stated the reasons,

16
00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,320
Speaker 2: Leon McDonald left the job as assistant to Scott Robertson

17
00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:02,200
Speaker 2: at the Crusaders in twenty seventeen, surfast and proved irreconcilable,

18
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:07,240
Speaker 2: which is, you know, baffling a little bit because they

19
00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:10,280
Speaker 2: have played or coached together over a twenty seven year span.

20
00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,559
Speaker 2: Canterbury Crusaders, the all backs. They coached a New Zealand

21
00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,720
Speaker 2: age group team together in twenty fifteen, and so for

22
00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,880
Speaker 2: suddenly these differences to be irreconcilable, you know, it's a

23
00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,720
Speaker 2: bit unusual. The other school of thought is that, you know,

24
00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,199
Speaker 2: there probably are too many voices on the coaching panel,

25
00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:34,399
Speaker 2: six full time coaches. That's unprecedented, different voices, all with

26
00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,720
Speaker 2: their role to play, and too many voices has been

27
00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,640
Speaker 2: a bit of a rumble that's come out of the team.

28
00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,119
Speaker 2: You know, look, they have won three out of their

29
00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,400
Speaker 2: four test matches, but right from the word go, you're

30
00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,080
Speaker 2: hearing that the players were getting a lot of voices,

31
00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,680
Speaker 2: a lot of information. And also when you've got that many,

32
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,840
Speaker 2: you know, there's always a chance that you know, coaches

33
00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:58,520
Speaker 2: are going to be sort of tripping over each other,

34
00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,680
Speaker 2: that're going to have different views, and maybe someone's going

35
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,440
Speaker 2: to end up feeling a bit marginalized. And I think

36
00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,680
Speaker 2: that's maybe one of the things that happened here with

37
00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,520
Speaker 2: Leon McDonald. Either way, it's a decision I think they

38
00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,600
Speaker 2: felt that they had to make now rather than you know,

39
00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,040
Speaker 2: let it sort of fester on. And I think in

40
00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:19,679
Speaker 2: that regard, it's quite a bold thing that they've done

41
00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:21,360
Speaker 2: and the right thing that they've done. If they weren't

42
00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,440
Speaker 2: getting on you just couldn't have that happening in front

43
00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:24,120
Speaker 2: of the players.

44
00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:26,400
Speaker 1: No, well, that obviously made up their minds that, as

45
00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:31,800
Speaker 1: you say, was reconcilable. Basically, who picks the who selects

46
00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,760
Speaker 1: the assistant coach? Like with Leon's job, would would Raiser

47
00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:35,519
Speaker 1: have picked him?

48
00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,560
Speaker 2: And well, yeah, and I think this is something that

49
00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,200
Speaker 2: you know, probably needs to be looked at that have

50
00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,320
Speaker 2: they given him cart blines to pick as many and

51
00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,600
Speaker 2: whoever coaches on his staff as he likes in the past,

52
00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,720
Speaker 2: it's a job that's been done very successfully in the

53
00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,320
Speaker 2: Graham Henry and Steve Hanson eres By three. And as

54
00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,040
Speaker 2: I say, it just raises that question where he has

55
00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:09,000
Speaker 2: obviously got some fresh ideas, some quite radical ideas. But

56
00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,600
Speaker 2: there's just signs here that's six and there are a

57
00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:15,680
Speaker 2: couple of others that pop in and out as well,

58
00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:21,800
Speaker 2: just perhaps too many the kitchen. Yeah, and look, I

59
00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:25,160
Speaker 2: think it's quite telling that the best performance that they've

60
00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,480
Speaker 2: had so far was the second Test match against Argentina,

61
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:33,200
Speaker 2: where the really bad weather forced them to simplify the

62
00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:35,560
Speaker 2: way they were playing. Take it right, back to the

63
00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:40,760
Speaker 2: basics and that proved to be a really good formula,

64
00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:45,600
Speaker 2: that maybe things were a bit over complicated, and that

65
00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,680
Speaker 2: the weather forced them to go a lots of them.

66
00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:50,960
Speaker 2: That's that's the point of going forward. I think if

67
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:53,360
Speaker 2: they're going to be successful in South Africa, which is

68
00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,160
Speaker 2: going to be a very tough challenge for them, that

69
00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:00,600
Speaker 2: that's that's the way ahead. The interesting now to see

70
00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:05,680
Speaker 2: whether there's an attempt to replace Leon McDonald. I don't

71
00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,240
Speaker 2: think that should be the case. I think you know

72
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,240
Speaker 2: that they've got enough there on the coaching staff that

73
00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,240
Speaker 2: you know, five full time coaches surely is plenty.

74
00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,599
Speaker 1: It sounds to me like more than enough. Tony, thank

75
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,200
Speaker 1: you for that. That's Tony Johnson Rugby commentated with us

76
00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,040
Speaker 1: this morning. I suppose if they go to South Africa

77
00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,479
Speaker 1: and they when all of this will be forgotten. But

78
00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,640
Speaker 1: that's probably a tall order at this point.

79
00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,360
Speaker 2: For more from News Talks' b listen live on air

80
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,279
Speaker 2: or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you

81
00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,720
Speaker 2: go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.