'All Blacks pack has dented': New attacking coach Jason Ryan takes control

Jason Ryan was enjoying a cold beer in Fiji when All Blacks coach Ian Foster called and asked if he wanted to jump into the rugby furnace.

A few days after Foster asked him to put steel into the All Blacks pack after John Plumtree was sacked, Ryan stepped down as front coach of the Crusaders and the Fiji national team.

Ryan, who has been in Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup, said he must seize a golden opportunity to help the All Blacks turn their fortunes around after a 2-1 draw to Ireland.

Ella Bates-Hermans/Stuff

Jason Ryan joined the All Blacks coaching staff after John Plumtree was sacked.

But he also had to break the news to his good friend and Crusader boss Scott Robertson, the man who had helped tie the rocket to Ryan’s coaching career.

Yes, Ryan said, it was a difficult conversation at first, but he received Robertson’s blessing:

“I am a loyal person. I really care,” Ryan said. “He’s done a lot for me. But… he’s really been supportive of what I wanted.”

The final chapter in Foster’s rocky reign as All Blacks coach has come with a twist; if Robertson is appointed coach at the end of 2019, instead of Foster, Ryan is guaranteed to be the man to guide the All Blacks pack.

Now Robertson is still in the Crusaders, while Ryan has been recruited by the man who convinced NZ Rugby that he is the better choice for the coveted national job after the 2019 World Cup.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

New All Blacks attacking coach Jason Ryan said Crusaders coach Scott Robertson wished him all the best after he accepted his new role.

“We worked together for 12 years, so don’t hide from that,” Ryan added referring to Robertson. “We had a good chat and had good coffee. He wished me all the best, and it was a good moment.”

Asked if it was ironic that it was Foster who gave him the much coveted job, Ryan said: “I’m on the All Blacks ticket.”

Coming out of the very successful Crusaders for a stuttering All Blacks team that has lost four of its last five tests could be considered gambling.

Ryan saw it from a different perspective.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

All Blacks coach Ian Foster is seen during an All Blacks training session at the Hutt Recreation Ground in Wellington on Monday.

“I will answer it, very clearly. It was an opportunity to train my country. And it was a dream to always be the attacking coach of the All Blacks. I can’t wait to get into it.”

Rarely has an assistant appointment been so appealing. Foster was forced to act after Ireland broke the All Blacks’ unbeaten record against them in New Zealand, and promptly dumped attack coaches Brad Mooar and Plumtree.

Ryan, who previously worked under Robertson with Canterbury before he moved to the Crusaders team in 2017, is highly regarded for his work ethic on and off the training paddock.

The fact that he’s never played first-class rugby doesn’t mean much either when tasked with extracting the best All Blacks star players in the franchise.

KAI SCHWOERER/Item

Crusaders coach Scott Robertson brought members of the Bromley School rugby team in Christchurch for training on Monday. Ross Fowler, the team’s coach, won a training session at auction for the Gut Foundation.

With Robertson in control, the team won six titles. And Ryan definitely played a part in that.

Now, however, he has to go to work without his partner by his side. Ryan should also pump confidence in the All Blacks pack ahead of two tests against the Springboks at the highlands next month.

Ireland exposed the All Blacks forward with their mauling, more tenacious at the break and rocking their set piece.

“I think everyone can see it. The kids are really disappointed,” Ryan said. “There’s nothing to hide from him. The All Blacks pack has been dented. It really has been.

“We discussed it in the next meeting today. We are completely honest. We must. And we have to carry on.”

Ryan begins his shift by discussing ways to stop the molester, a tactic the Springboks are sure to employ during tests in Mbombela (August 7 NZT), and Johannesburg a week later.

Burdening players with information, however, would be a mistake.

“I’ve actually taken a few things and only given them two things,” Ryan said.

“We’ve done a lot of work around our persecutors’ stuff, of course, and we’ve done quite a bit in our contact area there.

“Just to really understand what they’re trying to achieve and what they’re really trying to believe in, has been a huge thing.”

#Blacks #pack #dented #attacking #coach #Jason #Ryan #takes #control