Speaking exclusively to Prime Casino, All Black legend Tana Umaga said:
- We need to keep pushing rugby for Pacific Island kids
- All Blacks face a tough Northern Hemisphere tour and have work cut out
- Player development is a worry in New Zealand
- All Blacks have lost their aura and are now vulnerable
- Scott Robertson’s start has not been seamless with ‘huge hole’ left
- All Blacks’ ability to close out a game in closing stages a ‘genuine worry’
- Failure is always an option for All Blacks
- Cam Roigard leading next generation of All Blacks
- England and Borthwick will be quietly confident of ‘turning over’ All Blacks
- Cockerill ‘disrespect’ meant I was always motivated to beat England
- Ireland have played a big part in breaking down All Blacks aura
- Lions coach Andy Farrell knows how to get the best out of his players
- Brian O’Driscoll tackle backlash was hard to take
- Jiu Jitsu black belt makes me proud
We need to keep pushing rugby for Pacific Island kids
I’m now head coach at Moana Pasifika working alongside Stephen Jones, the former Wales fly half! It’s great.
Our island kids love playing rugby and contact sports. They’re born to it. But they also have other options now. We need to keep pushing our game forward, so it is front and center of minds for these players and ensure they stay in the game. We now see our players all over the world, not just in Australia and New Zealand.
All Blacks face a tough Northern Hemisphere tour and have work cut out
It is a tough tour coming up. They’ve really set themselves up to challenge themselves. I am not too sure it is really the kind of tour they would have wanted at this stage.
They got five matches including England, Ireland and France and we can’t overlook Italy where Gonzalo Quesada has got them playing some brilliant rugby.
They have their work cut out on this tour, no doubt about it. You can’t take anything for granted. The caliber of the teams they are playing is second to none.
We are in a rebuilding phase. But the sad thing is the current situation is not something we normally associate with the All Blacks. In my time the rebuilding phases were done in the competitions before big tours and not on the tour themselves.
And they haven’t had the most successful run of games over the summer.
Player development is a worry in New Zealand
For me as an ex All Black, the worry is how we are developing our players to keep New Zealand rugby strong. The player base is not as wide or plentiful as it has been because there are other options. So how can we move rugby to the forefront of kids’ minds?
We need the numbers. And the quality of juniors to keep the All Blacks at the level we expect them to be at.
In the NPC it was worrying to see empty stands even though the standard was better. How can we re-engage the fans again? We have to get back into the communities which are the lifeblood of our game. It is easier in the rural areas, but it is a struggle in the cities where there is so much else for our teenagers to do. That is the big worry for me. In New Zealand we have a clunky pathway system for our young players.
At the secondary school level there is a major drop off because they don’t have enough players.
All Blacks have lost their aura and are now vulnerable
Yes totally. Every time the All Blacks get beaten the aura takes a whack.
The All Blacks always have a target on their back and we are now vulnerable.
The teams that do well are grounded in the foundation of pathways, their development programmes and academy systems. Look at Ireland and France and South Africa. It’s also about numbers and population sizes. It is no accident that the way those teams are building their pathways is immediately affecting what is coming through at the top level. We are not doing that as well as other countries.
Scott Robertson’s start has not been seamless with ‘huge hole’ left
The handover was not seamless with the same team. The wealth of knowledge and experience that left after the World Cup has got to have made a difference. They have left a huge hole.
It has been a bit of an eye opener for Scott what he has gone into. There was no doubt that he would not have expected to have had the losses that he has had. At the Crusaders he knew nothing but success. He has also seen the gap there is between NPC and Super Rugby and then international rugby.
Some people don’t appreciate that. Consistency is the tough thing. Not just the consistency of performance, it is the consistency of training, turning up every day ready to do what you need to do. For some players it is a steep learning curve.
All Blacks’ ability to close out a game in closing stages a ‘genuine worry’
That is a genuine worry for us. It has traditionally been an area where we have excelled in the last 20 minutes where we would grind out the comeback and get the win. When that is not happening what do you look at? The skillset? Or are they fit enough? Part of that may be the lack of experience in those tough moments.
We saw Beauden Barrett’s impact when he came on against England in the second test. He made a difference because of his experience. But we need more than just Beudy to be switched on and know the pressures and the expectation of what is coming and not let that weight of expectation hold you back.
Hopefully the All Blacks are looking to rectify that. I am sure they will be.
Rugby is a very simple game, based on physicality. Against South Africa we lacked physicality, that ability to keep coming again and again and dealing with the pressure. The All Blacks are playing a good style of rugby. It is just in the key moments when we were not able to dial up the physicality and the energy.
That is what I will be looking at on the upcoming tour especially against the English, who will have learned from their defeats in the summer, the Irish and the French.
Failure is always an option for All Blacks
Failure is always an option.! It is going to be very insightful for this coaching and playing group to see where they are at. Either way it is going to be a good launching pad to see where they have got to get to in the next few years.
I am always a cup half full kind of guy. We are playing three of the best teams in the world at the peak of their powers at the minute.
It will be a great test. Everyone would hope we’ll win all five. That is what you have got to aim at but as well as being an optimist, we have to be realistic about where we are at the moment and where we want to be.
Where we are at the moment is not a place we will be happy with.
There are question marks on a few things. Scott has come on board amid a lot of fanfare. Now the honeymoon is over. The rubber has hit the road. The leeway is coming to an end.
If the tour is a failure it will be a tough tenure for him going forward trying to get people back.
The confidence that everyone when he came in compared with now will take a knock if it doesn’t go well. They have a squad that can do well. The leadership team is growing. It is now about the alignment between the coaching staff and them.
They have some great experiences. It is about what the coaching group can develop for them to believe in. And how they can get them across the line in some tough games. In the end it is all about the environment and culture he creates within the team and what the playing group believes in and buys into.
Cam Roigard leading next generation of All Blacks
I am excited by the young half back like Cam Roigard, not just his delivery from scrum half, but around the ruck area. He is a player that wants to keep the game moving which is exciting and I am looking forward to him being back after a serious injury. Another one I like is Cortez Ratima, his fellow half back under the guidance of TJ Perenara.
The two Wellington boys, Ruben Love the fullback and Peter Lukai, the back rower. His energy and willingness to get involved is great. He has learned a lot from Ardie Savea in terms of his dogged tenacity.
Then some of the stalwarts will step up like Ardie, Rieki Ioane and Caleb Clarke who have been outstanding. He is growing and has matured into a great professional.
England and Steve Borthwick will be quietly confident of ‘turning over’ All Blacks
They will have learned from the summer when they’re tired after a long domestic season. It’s a different kettle of fish when we go up there and play them at Twickenham.
It is the start of a big campaign and with Steve and what he learned and saw, he will be keen and quietly confident that they can turn the All Blacks over. They blooded some youngsters down here who will be better for the experience. No-one can underestimate how difficult they are going to be.
Richard Cockerill ‘disrespect’ meant I was always motivated to beat England
I loved playing England because I always wanted to beat them. They were one of the teams that I really got up for and I probably played some of my best games against them. I was always motivated.
It goes back to the time in 1997 when I toured there. In the last game of the tour Richard Cockerill and Norman Hewitt, the two hookers squared up during the Haka. I was sitting on the sideline not playing. I watched as they went nose to nose. Being a proud All Black and fan and being part of it, to know the Haka means to us, to see Cockerill up in his face taking the challenge and showing disrespect, ever since then I have been really motivated against England.
Ireland have played a big part in breaking down All Blacks aura
They are a very good side and have been for a long time. Everyone talks about their poor record at World Cups but outside of those they have been so consistent over a long time. Yes, their ranking is justified.
We have talked about the aura of the All Blacks diminishing. Ireland has been a big part of that in breaking that down. When they first beat us and beat us in a series, they opened up the crack and others followed and the crack has just got bigger.
That is testament to everyone who has been involved with the Irish team. Their self-belief has grown and grown. Once they beat us once they have just gained huge confidence. Every time you go on to the field you have to have that confidence. I know what that feels like as an All Black. Ireland know that even if they are behind they can win a game and can find a way.
The All Blacks have never before talked about rebuilding. It was always a seamless transition from teams which maintained their success. Ireland are now in that position.
It is all to do with the foundation Ireland has, how their players have developed from a young age, they know who is coming through and in which positions for years. They always have a succession plan in place with players. It is such a smooth transition through the levels. That alignment throughout the game is working very well. They are steps ahead of anyone else with the exception of South Africa perhaps and maybe France.
Lions coach Andy Farrell knows how to get the best out of his players
He has really stepped up with Ireland. He is the Lions coach next summer. He knows what it takes as an elite player and coach. He is one of the legends of rugby league. The key thing is how he handles his players.
He knows how to get the best out of them and keeps everyone aligned to his vision and goals. You have got to take your hat off to him and his backroom staff as they keep pushing Ireland forward.
Brian O’Driscoll tackle backlash was hard to take
Nothing has changed in my mind. There was no intent. Myself and Brian are good now.
The backlash was hard to take though. Everyone accusing me of it being deliberate. These sorts of things happen in a game. The outcomes are not always the same. The injury was unfortunate.
The backlash from the people in Ireland was pretty tough and the biggest thing, I loved touring Ireland and I still do enjoy it. There are still good people there.
We toured directly after the Lions tour in the autumn of that year. That was tough. There were comments thrown at me by people as I walked past. At the airport I remember an older couple looking at me and saying: ‘Disgrace. You’re a disgrace.’
Then at one of our training sessions there was a mother and daughter who were about nine, with a banner saying ‘ What you did was disgraceful.’
I looked at the girl and she was smiling at me. The mother was not smiling. I wondered if the daughter actually understood what it was all about. That’s the main thing I remember.
Jiu Jitsu black belt makes me proud
As a youngster I grew up on Chinese Kung Fu movies which were badly edited and dubbed into English. I loved them and I always thought I would be in some form of martial arts.
When I was in France I was looking for something to do and keep healthy. Well actually my wife had said I was getting a bit big around the waist! That pushed me into doing something. I don’t like running or the gym. There was always a means to an end when I was playing. I found a Jiu jitsu gym in France and went for a try out. The coach was all of 60 or 70 kg and he ran me through a few of the techniques. As part of the class we sparred with the coach for five minutes.
He was so small I thought, ‘ I won’t go too hard on him.’ Within five seconds I was on the floor and had to submit. The competitive juices were still flowing through me so I got up thinking, ‘I’ll get you now.’
In five minutes I was submitted ten times. It was very humbling! At the end all he said to me at the end was, ‘Breathe!’
What caught me was the fluidity of the movements. He never lost sight of his goals. It is like a game of chess. It is an hour of my day when I can go in and forget about everything because I have to be 100% focused and in the present. Otherwise I will invariably lose or get hurt.
I am a big advocate of Jiu Jitsu for young people. It teaches you how to lose. You have to learn to lose in life. I tell parents that the sport teaches you that failure is not fatal. It is just a way to learn and you can come and have a go again.
It has taken me 14 years on and off. I got my black belt two years ago. They always say a black belt is a white belt that never gives up!’
I am proud that I pushed ahead and got there. It has been great for my mental health and wellbeing. It has taught me how to deal with the pressures in the workplace.
I am a big fan of MMA. I like the physicality and brutality of it, but I also like the skill element.
Yes, I went to the World Masters competition in the USA in San Diego at a gym owned by Jenrrhy (tbc) Ferrara. I came runner up in my category. It was good for me also because I have always been used to team sports, and this was about competing as an individual.
Brian took to what was then Twitter to write: Proud to have played some small part in his preparation for his silver medal. ‘JOOOOOKE!!! ‘ Well done @tanaumaga that’s a great achievement.’
It was cool.
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