The three best coaches of 2014 Super Rugby

Who were the best coaches in Super Rugby this year?

It is not easy to pick who the best coaches of a competition are and sometimes you have to stir the tea leaves.

But a big clue is how a team improves from one year to the other.

3.  Michael Foley  (Western Force)

Foley didn’t have the best start as head coach with the 2012 Waratahs and he resigned after they won just four games in the season: their worst record in five years.

When the Force took him on he said he wanted to relaunch the team which had won only three times in 2o12.

2013 wasn’t much better under Foley as the Force won four and drew one. He was going to be on a slippery slope and out of town if results didn’t pick up in 2014.

Matt Hodgson in his 100th game for the Force – the start of the streak

The season didn’t start well after losses to better-credentialed Aussie teams, the Waratahs and the Brumbies, but there was something in the wind when skipper Matt Hodgson trotted out for his 100th game for the Force in front of admiring home crowd in Round 4. They led the Rebels 32-0 at 27 minutes and won the game—but was it a flash in the pan?

No it wasn’t: it was the first of five victories in a row and during that run they accounted for last year’s champions, the Chiefs, and the team that would win the trophy in 2014, the Waratahs, in the return match. They also had a heroic win against the Highlanders despite being down to 13 men for the last eight minutes of the game.

Foley didn’t have a team of superstars. Top-line players like David Pocock, Matt Giteau, James O’Connor, Drew Mitchell and Digby Ioane were long-gone, but he did the best with what he had and, as usual, the backrow was influential in all the victories.

Lacking skilled players Foley crafted a game plan, a western version of Jake-ball, which challenged opponents to run the ball out of their own half without spilling it. When they were in Force real estate he relied on the ticker of the players to repel the boarders, especially when they were trying to get over the Force goal line.

Michael Foley (2013) – can be proud of his team this year

There was no better example when they pressured the Waratahs in the return match in Perth. They took the ball off the Tahs after contact and took advantage by breaking out—then they put their bodies on the line in their own 22.

Their streak came to an end in a flat return match against the Rebels but they got enough points in the rest of the season to be a chance to make the top six. Alas they couldn’t get started in their last game in Canberra and missed sixth spot by two points on the ladder.

But it was a good effort by Foley and his charges. They ended up winning nine games, a Force record, and embarrassed some good teams.

Foley needs some rainmakers to add a bit of dessert to his team’s meat-and-potatoes rugby because they lacked finish in some promising moves.

But right now he can be proud of their effort this year.

 Jamie Joseph (left) with good mate John Kirwan, coach of the Blues

2.  Jamie Joseph  (Highlanders)

The Clan won only three games last year and were second-last, just above the short-lived Kings. But they made the play-offs in 2014, through winning eight and earning five bonus points for losing narrowly. They beat the Sharks in Durban in their best game of the regular season but lost to them at the same ground in the qualifying final.

Joseph deserves great credit for his signings of players let go, or not picked up, by other Kiwi franchises—loosehead prop Kane Hames, flanker Shane Christie, centre Malakai Fekitoa, plus wingers Richard Buckman and Patrick Osborne. Local second-rower Tom Franklin was also a useful addition.

The return of Nasi Manu who was injured in the first game of the 2013 season also helped; he was their best forward and his leadership was a noticeable asset to the 2014 team.

Joseph had the forwards fitter than last year and they were more aggressive and quicker around the park.

But they were inconsistent at the start of the season and it took a while for the team’s potential to come through.

Selections became more coherent making for a more cohesive team; game plans were logical, and the effect of Tony Brown coaching the backs became salutary.  It all set a stage for improvement and players like first-five Lima Sopoaga and lock/flanker Joe Wheeler on return, thrived in the new environment.

The Highlanders had some problems in 2014 and Joseph will be wanting to improve the lineout throwing (especially of Coltman), and the scrummaging (especially on the tighthead side).  Losing Brad Thorn, their tighthead lock, early in the season did not help matters.

But going from second-last to making the finals was a big improvement and much of that was due to the coach.

See page 2 for the Coach of the Year