Top dogs who build teams in own image
TBILISI, GEORGIA - JANUARY 20: Richard Cockerill, new coach of Georgian Rugby and Black Lion, appears on pitch prior to the EPCR Challenge Cup match between Black Lion and ASM Clermont Auvergne at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium on January 20, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia. (Photo by Levan Verdzeuli/Getty Images)
According to an article on the American website “Psychology Today”, there is scientific evidence to suggest that dogs not only look like their owners, but also share many of their personality traits.
Rugby folk old enough to remember the French pack of the 1970s will therefore be grateful that they never encountered a hound belonging to Gerard Cholley or Michel Palmie, those XL Bullies in human form.
As far as your columnist is aware – a low bar, admittedly, but let's not make an issue of it – there has been no formal research into any similar relationship between rugby coaches and their teams. Yet it would be a fruitful area for study, especially now Richard Cockerill is in command of the Georgian national side.
Leicester's bullet-headed hooker of yore may have found his true place in the world, for to the naked eye, his fundamental rugby characteristics are perfectly aligned with those of his new charges. As a player, he was courageous, durable, confrontational, technically proficient in some areas, just a little rough and ready in others. Which bit of this doesn't apply to Georgia? None of it.
Our argument can be made more strongly still in respect of Felipe Contepomi, who has just succeeded Michael Cheika as head coach of Argentina and will presumably be given an entire World Cup cycle to build a side capable of taking that one last, forbidding step towards a first global final.
During his long run as a Test midfielder, the 87-cap Puma fully earned his reputation as a rugby intellectual. He wasn't remotely short in the brawn department – he tackled like a ton of Andes rock, whether he was operating at No.10 or No.12 – but it was his brain that set him apart. Like Rob Andrew in the successful England side of the early 1990s, he was more than capable of playing free with ball in hand, yet recognised the importance of striking a balance between the adventurous and the pragmatic.
It is easy to imagine today's Pumas developing their game in Contepomi's image – after all, he is as much a part of them as they are of him – and if they do it well, they will stand every chance of making the last four in 2027, just as they did in 2007, 2015 and 2023. And if they drag the Uruguayans and Chileans along in their slipstream as they build towards that tournament, South America will consolidate its position as the sport's fastest-growing market.
Recent events in Tbilisi and Buenos Aires have made the latest post-World Cup coaching merry-go-round more interesting than it might have been. With the home nations and France all opting to stick rather than twist – for many and varied reasons, Steve Borthwick, Warren Gatland, Gregor Townsend, Andy Farrell and Fabien Galthie were never going anywhere, irrespective of results – potential for change seemed limited, especially with the All Blacks confirming the accession of Scott Robertson as early as last March and the Italians unveiling Gonzalo Quesada in mid-June.
Then Eddie Jones happened – he's always happening somewhere, our Eddie – and both Australia and Japan spent the immediate post-tournament period in headlines the size of Times Square advertising displays. Throw in Simon Raiwalui's decision to call it a day in Fiji and the brilliant Patrice Lagisquet's bitterly disappointing departure from Portugal and suddenly, we were back in “don't blink: you'll miss it” territory.
It remains to be seen how the Wallabies respond to the quietly assertive Joe Schmidt (the third damned Kiwi to take charge on the far side the “ditch”, much to the chagrin of the flag-waving “Australian coaching jobs for Australian coaches” set), but this much is clear: he will have to box more cleverly than Sugar Ray Leonard in imposing his unapologetically detail-driven style of union on a disoriented group of players who have become unmoored from their own rugby culture.
Elsewhere, the signs are more encouraging. Jones knows all there is to know about Japanese rugby at Test level – he pretty much invented it, at least in its current manifestation – and there is no obvious reason to think that Senirusi Seruvakula, who is currently running the shop in Fiji on an interim basis, will slam on the brakes and bring recent progress to a standstill. The former Drua coach has been deeply embedded at the top end of the country's set-up for the last eight years and knows precisely what makes it tick.
Most encouraging of all for those who, back in 2015, felt more than a little uncomfortable at the dominance of New Zealand strategists at international level – no fewer than seven of the teams at that year's World Cup were headed up by Kiwis – is the trend towards what might be called coaching multiculturalism.
There are still three silver-ferned types in business amongst the top 25 nations in the rankings, but there are also three Englishmen and three Argentines, while France, South Africa and Wales can each claim two… er…top dogs. Which takes us neatly back to dear old Cockers…
