Smith 'considering' England job
New Zealand’s Wayne Smith admitted on Thursday he was considering an offer to take up a role in the England coaching set-up and would make up his mind by early next month.
Smith, an assistant coach when the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup last year, confirmed he met England coach Stuart Lancaster in South Africa last week to discuss joining the England camp.
“I’ve got some major considerations to make over the next 10 days,” the New Zealander, who has helped transform the table-topping Waikato Chiefs into a Super Rugby threat this season, told reporters.
Quizzed on what role he had been offered – backs coach, defence coach or head coach – he replied: “All of the above are the suggestions.”
Smith said if he became head coach it would allow Lancaster to take on a broader role for England, such as director of rugby.
“I love being a head coach,” he said. “The only question I had over the England (head coach) job that was advertised, the actual job description of the role, was that it was more in line with strategically running the team.”
“It didn’t appear to be a ‘track-suited’ role. I couldn’t imagine a foreigner coming in and running the All Blacks. I’m of the belief that it’s right that an Englishman does that for the English team.”
Smith said he had no doubt England were a team on the rise but he had to decide whether he could fully commit to working with an outfit that was intent on toppling his beloved All Blacks from the pinnacle of world rugby.
“Having put the last eight years of my life into coaching the All Blacks and trying to win the World Cup, I’m going to have to search inside myself to see whether I could coach a team against them,” he said.
He said family considerations and a reluctance to leave a youthful Chiefs teams bursting with promise would also weigh on his deliberations about moving to London.
AFP
