Banquo wrote:
Took Leeds up, but they went down again straight away. Did OK at the RFU before the 1st team job, with Saxons and u20's.
Still stuck.
Beat every team in the top 10 bar South Africa (with a draw away being the best result). His win over the ABs was one of only 3 defeats for NZ in the last 4 years. Had an 80% win record in the 6N - yeah, he never won it, but it was still far better than we'd been used to in the 4 years before.
He had flaws, many and varied. But he did do some good things too.
Puja
Wouldn't class those as successes bar beating NZ, which he then failed to capitalise on. An 80% record in the 6N is pretty average as the tournaments immediately prior and post his appointment testify to.
Anyway, it's an old argument but I'm glad to see you've got over the World Cup. Not sure I have and I certainly won't be able to forgive him or his compadres.
If I had a quid for every time it was held this Head Coach or that Head Coach would be a success, if only you stuck them with a different coaching team to the one they wanted to keep...
A Bath fan's just reminded me of Craig's massive ego. There's no way on earth that he'll settle for a smaller name or one with tarnishes on it. The only reason Ford (a failed England RWC coach himself, lest we forget) got the top job was by wresting it from the 'big name' of Gary Gold in an internal coup.
Bruce will go big and expensive. Someone Kiwi, I would have thought.
Puja wrote:A Bath fan's just reminded me of Craig's massive ego. There's no way on earth that he'll settle for a smaller name or one with tarnishes on it. The only reason Ford (a failed England RWC coach himself, lest we forget) got the top job was by wresting it from the 'big name' of Gary Gold in an internal coup.
Bruce will go big and expensive. Someone Kiwi, I would have thought.
Puja
Let's start a sweepstake. I'll put my money on Ewen McKenzie.
Pat Lam is having a good season, and in rugby terms is a big name, also there has to be a decent chance he's met Burt and has played league at some point (even if just as a kid)
Puja wrote:A Bath fan's just reminded me of Craig's massive ego. There's no way on earth that he'll settle for a smaller name or one with tarnishes on it. The only reason Ford (a failed England RWC coach himself, lest we forget) got the top job was by wresting it from the 'big name' of Gary Gold in an internal coup.
Bruce will go big and expensive. Someone Kiwi, I would have thought.
Puja
Let's start a sweepstake. I'll put my money on Ewen McKenzie.
That... that's an excellent call actually. I wonder what odds you'd get on that at the bookies?
I'm trying to think of an NZ coach who would be both "Big Name" enough for Bath to chase but still so far down the pecking order that Bath looks like a good option for them. I'm assuming an English club would not be pulling someone out of ITM cup. Tana Umaga hasn't failed at the Blues yet. Dave Rennie is more in line for a national team role, in NZ or abroad, than a club. Jamie Joseph wants to win another Super Rugby title too much to quit for cash right now. If Todd Blackadder wanted to live overseas he would be there already. Chris Boyd hasn't won anything yet to make Bath want him.
What's John Kirwan up to at the moment?
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Dominating the SHMB
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fivepointer wrote:Telegraph mention Heyneke Meyer as a front runner.
The Times did as well but I didn't want to mention it in case it pushed WT over the edge.
On the subject of breaking Which's sanity, I don't know how he'll take the story I saw this morning that apparently Bath have been in talks with Burt for a while, but he's turned them down to continue pursuing his Super Rugby dream. It's one thing to think you can do better than Burt, but to be snubbed by him?
Mind, it's probably a product of his publicist's overactive imagination, like all the Super Rugby jobs he keeps getting linked to.
Guardian states Ford is looking forward to embracing New Opportunities, I'm assuming New Opportunities is a somewhat strange name for one of the staff members at Bath he's been linked with.
Digby wrote:Guardian states Ford is looking forward to embracing New Opportunities, I'm assuming New Opportunities is a somewhat strange name for one of the staff members at Bath he's been linked with.
Or maybe New Opportunities is related to Something Special...
Digby wrote:Guardian states Ford is looking forward to embracing New Opportunities, I'm assuming New Opportunities is a somewhat strange name for one of the staff members at Bath he's been linked with.
Digby wrote:Guardian states Ford is looking forward to embracing New Opportunities.
Gods, I thought you were just taking the piss out of his post-match interviews, and was going to say something about taking a good hard look at himself in the mirror and speak some harsh truths on Tuesday.
But no - he really did say that: http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Bath-Rug ... story.html
