It’s time for New Zealand Rugby to look offshore for Super coaches

What seems a better question to be asking right now is whether NZR would be willing to loosen its stance on foreign coaches and open the country to an influx of new ideas and personnel.

The need to ask this question has been prompted by the relatively underwhelming scenario which has unfolded in the quest to fill the soon-to-be-vacant head coaching roles at the Blues, Hurricanes and Crusaders.

All three have been forced into the market at the same time as Robertson will be leaving the Crusaders for the All Blacks at the end of this year and is taking Blues and Hurricanes respective head coaches Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland with him.

To be losing three head coaches like this is far from ideal, but New Zealand is of course blessed with an abundance of high-quality coaches.

What has become clear in the last month or so, however, is that while there may well be plenty of good New Zealand coaches around the world, none particularly want to work in their homeland.

It’s the reported shortlist at the Hurricanes … that highlights the lack of depth in the coaching market.

The Blues have tried and failed to persuade former Chiefs, Glasgow and Wallabies coach Dave Rennie to come to Auckland. They have also failed to entice Joe Schmidt to return to the club where his professional journey first started back in 2006.

The latest speculation suggests that former All Black and Clermont and La Rochelle director of rugby, Jonno Gibbes is the Blues’ next target and while he has a relatively impressive CV, he’s not the senior, mentoring figure the club were hoping to hire.

It’s the reported shortlist at the Hurricanes, though, that highlights the lack of depth in the coaching market.

The New Zealand Herald has reported that the Hurricanes are looking at former All Blacks assistants Scott McLeod and Brad Mooar and current New Zealand Sevens head Clark Laidlaw.

All three have ample coaching experience, but none have worked for any extensive period as a head coach in the XV-a-side game.

It’s perhaps a little harsh to say that these plum gigs are attracting underwhelming applicants, but certainly there was no wow factor when the names leaked into the mainstream press.

What would be interesting to ponder is how different the appointment process may have looked had all three teams been able to chase after a foreign head coach.

The current rules around Super Rugby coaching appointments are not entirely against foreigners being given head roles, but it would take extraordinary circumstances for that to happen.

Currently, NZR pays the salary of each club’s head coach and one assistant. And…