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Subscribe to RSS FeedAB inquest to begin
The future is unclear for the 'Three Wise Men'
Less than twenty-four hours after New Zealand crashed out of the World Cup the inquest has begun, with the 'Three Wise Men' being called to face the media and learn their futures.
The 20-18 loss to France in Cardiff on Saturday has stunned a rugby nation and cast a considerable shadow over the coaching structure in place at the highest level. After all this was the first time New Zealand have ever gone out of a World Cup at the quarter-final stage
NZRU boss Jock Hobbs, and fellow administrators Chris Moller and Steve Tew, will hold a press conference on Sunday, with the coaching trio of Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith expected to confront the media straight after Hobbs.
It is widely expected that Henry will offer his resignation, or at least that is what is expected. A four-year tenure, which has been largely successful, will sadly be remembered for the wrong reasons now.
There was a strong belief that his forwards assistant Steve Hansen was being groomed to take over.
In an ideal scenario - with the Webb Ellis Trophy in the cupboard - that may have been a formality.
But Hansen has now been tarred by the same brush that has marked every All Blacks coach and assistant to have failed in the cup quest and will have to work very hard to convince the powers that be that he is, indeed, the man to take over.
The defeat brings to light the luxuries afforded to the All Blacks over the past two seasons, from summer training camps rather than Super 14 action, to the lack of serious warm-up games heading to France. The result was a squad of players who had not had the amount of competitive rugby that they needed, seemingly leaving them underdone for a contest against the hard-nosed French.
