During my playing career I came to the conclusion that coaching and managing a team must be a thankless task, writes Thomas Castaignede. There are always plenty of people lining up to pontificate about what you should do or could have done better, but not many standing there saying they feel they could actually do the job because they truly understand what it entails.
Before looking at the coaching successes of this World Cup, we need to establish a few things. A coach is limited by the quality of the players at his disposal and the time he has to work with them and the back-up available. It is how he guides those players, what he does with the time he has and how he uses the support structures in place that show his quality.
There have been some great teams with great players that have not been well managed and have ended up in a crisis that can take on national proportions. Even in the biggest teams the players need support at difficult times. The coach has to be there for them.
Top of my World Cup coaching list is Marcelo Loffreda of Argentina — he and his team have all but achieved their goal, and who knows what else may await? A team lives or dies on its state of mind. The manager is the man who creates the team’s morale and Loffreda has imbued the Puma jersey with massive value and meaning for his players.
You can’t help feeling that when they put on that light blue jersey it is like a man and a woman who are in love but rarely see each other; when they are together they want this time to be the best of their lives.
To understand the Pumas’ cohesion and spirit look at their defence. To date they are the only team not to ship a try in this World Cup.
Loffreda has done better than any coach at the World Cup but he has the hardest task of all of them, because his players are scattered around the world and they spend barely any time together. They work on a shoestring budget. He has drawn the disparate personalities together and has guided them almost to their objective. Hats off to him.
In second place is the All Black triumvirate of Graham Henry, Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen. What has impressed here is how Henry and company have made everybody involved pull in one direction for a common goal, with stunning results.
It is not just players there but also a governing body of provinces, the selection committee and the technicians on the team. Yes, the resources available to the All Blacks are huge and they have the best players in the world. But you cannot help feeling they have been taken to the highest level possible.
I would rank Jake White of South Africa third, because of the way he has turned the Springboks round in a year. He was nearly out of a job 12 months ago and now his side are striking fear into the entire tournament. He seems to have rebuilt their collective soul and dragged them up out of the trough.
White’s big strength has been the way he has taken the criticism on the chin and has kept faith with himself and his players in the hard times. He has taken some big bets on older guys such as Percy Montgomery and Bobby Skinstad and he has integrated younger elements such as François Steyn.
Fourth has to be Quddus Fielea of Tonga, who has a similar task to Loffreda: players scattered to the four winds — but far fewer of them to start with, compared even with Samoa — and limited time to build anything. His team shows the same qualities as Loffreda’s Argentina: massive spirit and heart, the essential values.
Fifth is Tomaz Morais of Portugal. His was the biggest ask of all because no one gave his team the slightest chance of doing anything remotely noteworthy. They couldn’t match New Zealand — though who can? — but apart from that they have shown they exist. For an amateur team with volunteer officials that is a colossal achievement. Could Morais be rugby’s Jose Mourinho?
I won’t go through all the potential losers, but the biggest so far is Eddie O’Sullivan of Ireland, who was given a four-year contract before the big kick-off.
It is not a matter of whether or not he is a good coach, but of how the team looks now compared with what Ireland’s provinces have shown on the field and of some debatable selections. His Ireland team have a final chance to salvage something on Sunday and all of France will be hoping they can take it. — Â