Word to the wise, Brad, all’s fair in love and war when it comes to rugby coaching’s revolving door

IF you’re looking for fair in the revolving door that is rugby coaching, it doesn’t matter how deep you dig, you won’t find it, writes Andrew Slack.

Can Brad Thorn succeed at the Reds despite never holding a head coaching role before?

IF you’re looking for fair, it doesn’t matter how deep you dig, you won’t find it.

I doubt even the people who were responsible for the removal of Nick Stiles after just one year as coach of the Reds would think their decision would stand up to the scrutiny of the “Is this fair?” test.

If Samu Kerevi had kicked the ball to the other end of the field against the Crusaders in March rather than take the tackle, give away the penalty and see his team lose the match, or had Brad Thorn not being a possible option as the Reds main man, it is almost certain Stiles would still be running the show in 2018.

Circumstances conspire, and you cop the consequences.

Can Brad Thorn succeed at the Reds despite never holding a head coaching role before?

As Thorn, with tongue superglued to his cheek, said in his first press conference as the boss of the wash, “Coaching is a solid old gig, isn’t it?”.

Of course it’s not, but people keep putting their hands up to be one. That fact in itself is fascinating.

Like Richard Graham and Phil Mooney before him, Stiles accepted his fate with dignity and class, although the alternative isn’t great, for no matter how clichéd it might sound, the reality is that bitter doesn’t make you better.

What do the punters think about Thorn’s appointment?

One former All Black I spoke to during the week was mystified, purely on the basis that someone with no head coaching experience could possibly be considered. In New Zealand, you earn your stripes before they’re handed out.

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Someone else, who’s been around professional football in Brisbane, seemed to understand the punt that has been taken.

“Brad’s a winner everywhere he goes,” he said.

Hard to argue with that, but as Thorn himself would understand, coaching is a unique beast and to tame it is the hardest sporting gig of all. As a player you exert some control over your own performance. As a coach, control is the most movable of feasts.

But for all the focus on the main man, it is really the team he assembles that has the potential to make or break.

Axed Reds coach Nick Stiles.

That team is not just the players, but the management and coaching personnel.

It used be called team spirit, but the word has morphed into “culture’. Same meaning, different spelling.

Either way, the culture begins with team management and the way they interreact, and if that bunch of old-timers set the standard by supporting each other, the younger ones who do the business on the pitch will catch the bug. Culture is contagious.

If Thorn assembles the right people, he’ll be fine.

“Caring for each other” was the theme of his first press conference and I have no doubt as to his sincerity, but everyone working for him has to have that same approach.

Ambition is important but I’ve seen ambition in coaching structures turn into envy and finger-pointing and ultimately produce a one-way ticket to disaster.

Players see it too, if not straight away, sooner rather than later.

With his experience, and with no longer any desire for a head coach job, Tony McGahan should prove a valuable asset while it will be disappointing if the rumours are true that former coach Mooney is not available for one of the other assistant roles.

Mooney was an unsung and forgotten part of the 2011 success, having unselfishly brought many younger players through before Ewen McKenzie applied the finishing touches and grabbed the chocolates.

Assistant coaches, recruiters, team managers and those in the medical and strength and conditioning roles are largely overlooked by most when success or failure occurs, but they are absolutely vital components.

Without the right people supporting him, there’ll be nothing fair about the job Thorn has just been given.