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Japan head coach Jamie Joseph reveals why he turned down chance at All Blacks role
By Online Editors
Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has revealed the reason behind his decision to turn down a position with the All Blacks in favour of sticking with the Brave Blossoms.
Joseph has returned from Japan to his family in New Zealand as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc worldwide, five months after he rejected the opportunity to join the All Blacks' coaching race.
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Both he and long-term assistant coach Tony Brown were contenders to join the All Blacks' coaching staff after incumbent head coach Steve Hansen left the post following his side's semi-final defeat to England at the World Cup in Japan last year.
At that same World Cup, Joseph and Brown led Japan to their most successful campaign ever, winning all four of their pool games - including upset victories over Ireland and Scotland - to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
The Brave Blossoms' overwhelming success and compelling style of play caught the eye of many worldwide, with 54 million people in Japan alone tuning in to watch their 28-21 shock win against Scotland.
Joseph and Brown were credited with the tier two nation's remarkable rise to final eight of the global tournament, and were considered frontrunners alongside the likes of Ian Foster, Scott Robertson and Dave Rennie to succeed Hansen.
However, Joseph declined an invitation sent out by New Zealand Rugby to apply for the All Blacks role in November, instead signing a contract extension with the Japan Rugby Football Union through until the 2023 World Cup in France.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times from his Dunedin home, Joseph revealed that his loyalty to Japan was what ultimately kept him and Brown at the helm of the Brave Blossoms.
“The decision was really difficult," he said. "In hindsight, I feel that the landscape for coaches overseas has really changed, there’s a lot of New Zealand coaches that are coaching all over the world, and the process in New Zealand didn’t really allow me to consider it seriously enough.
“What I mean by that is, applying for a job and applying for a job at the same time you’re applying for another job doesn’t show much loyalty.
“I guess one of those values that we [Joseph and Tony Brown] learned at Otago back in the day when we were coming up through the ranks was loyalty is a big factor, just because it is professional, for me it’s really important."
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I didn't mean to sound down on Dmac. Just looking hard at the bench sub's role of providing impact. I don't think he can do that at 15, and the bench is not really about injury cover anymore (you need to maximise it's use more than that).
He's my first choice of any New Zealander for the 10 jersey with the All Blacks.
Go to commentsAgreed. And I don't have much more to say on it, but I had been having one thought that sprang to mind at the tail of this discussion, and that is that it's not all about Razor.
It's not about any coach being "right". I think a lot of selections can become defense and while it doesn't really apply here I really enjoyed that Andy Farrell just gave into the public demands and changed out his team for the change that had been asked for. Like why not? This is the countries team, keep them engaged. The whole reason i've only just finished watching the game was because I wasn't interested in watching any of the selected players against a team like Italy (still actually enjoyed the first half with the contest Italy made of it).
Faz leap frogs a younger half back into start. He hands the golden child the game over July's golden child. He gives an old winger a go, a new flanker and hooker. None of them really did any good, certainly not enough to suggest they should have been promoted above others, but who cares? You won, and you gave the country what they wanted, that's all that matters after all. It's for the country, not the one in charge who thinks they have to have their own pied piper tune playing.
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