‘Changed our lives’: Sir Wayne Smith’s ‘rocky road’ to leadership greatness

Legendary coach Sir Wayne Smith has helped both the All Blacks and Black Ferns win Rugby World Cup titles on home soil, but the journey to get to those points was “a pretty rocky road.”

Smith, 66, was celebrated at New Zealand’s prestigious Halberg Awards on Wednesday night as he received the Leadership Award for his work with the New Zealand national rugby teams.

But before all the glory and fame, in Smith’s own words, he was “sacked” by the All Blacks in 2001. After failing to win the Bledisloe Cup, the All Blacks decided to go in another direction.

John Mitchell replaced Smith as the All Blacks’ head coach. That decision led Smith to question his credentials by describing himself as both a “fraud” and “imposter.”

But as Smith discussed during an impressive speech at the awards show this week, that was a key moment in his leadership journey which went on to inspire greatness.

“I’m really proud to get this award but it’s also a bit confronting,” Smith said on stage.

“Leadership for me has been a pretty rocky road, I definitely wasn’t born with it. I don’t think anyone is but it’s something that you learn.

“When I lost the All Blacks job in 2001, we’ll let’s face it, I got sacked, I saw myself as a bit of a fraud, an imposter.

“People under my leadership weren’t really flourishing and I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.

“My wife Trish, she showed more leadership than me, by encouraging me to keep going and to look around the world for another opportunity. She helped me get better and better and I needed to change.”

Smith left New Zealand’s shores after taking up a deal with the Northampton Saints in England. But after a few years away, the Kiwi returned home to Aotearoa.

New All Blacks coach Graham Henry, who replaced Mitchell after the 2003 Rugby World Cup, appointed Smith as one of the team’s assistant coaches in 2004.

Smith stayed on with the national team through to their drought-breaking Rugby World Cup final victory at Eden Park in 2011 and was also part of the team that went back-to-back four years later in England.

“We started a leadership program with the players. It was essentially building leaders who build leadership who build leaders,” Smith added.

“And for it we coaches became learners. We were learning from younger men, people like Richie McCaw, Daniel Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Kieran Read.

“it changed our lives and it changed the way the All Blacks operated.”

But another one of Smith’s crowning achievements came more recently in 2022. Smith took over the coaching reigns with the Black Ferns of April that year and went on to lead them to a once unlikely World Cup title of their own.

Smith had helped the All Blacks win a World Cup final at Eden Park and did the same for the pioneers of the women’s game. Truly a New Zealand rugby great.