Ewen McKenzie shows Reds the way

OPINION: How important is a coach? Just look at Ewen McKenzie at the Reds for the answer.

The first guy I'd pick in a team is the coach rather than any player.

The coach has such a huge influence on a side. I've been in teams where a change of coach has dramatically altered the performance of the team, for both good and bad.

McKenzie did pretty well with the Waratahs, getting them to the final twice, and did pretty well at Stade Francais.

To turn around the Reds, the perennial wooden-spooners of Australian rugby, to where they are now – with essentially the same players – has been solely down to McKenzie.

The top coaches are not necessarily the best technically. In fact, some of the best coaches I've had have been terrible with the technical side of things.

It's the same in business or sport – the person who creates the environment where people want to play for each other is going to have more success than someone who's technically astute but inhibits performance.

Getting the balance between the team environment and the tactics employed is vitally important. But I'd always say the environment is the most critical.

If you have a big-name coach it will have an effect at the start. But players are quick to look past the superficial things and work out for themselves if a coach is up to it or not.

While McKenzie is having success at the Reds, unfortunately the same isn't true for the New Zealand coaches in charge of overseas teams. John Mitchell at the Force and John Plumtree at the Sharks are both having disappointing starts to their campaigns.

Mitchell's problems with player revolts have been well documented. He had similar problems when coaching in the UK.

This season the Force have lost a number of their best players, including Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau, so it's no surprise they are struggling and I don't see there being a great deal of improvement for them.

Obviously, the relationship between the players and coaches hasn't been good and, if anything, things are going to get worse because of the injuries the team keep picking up.

I rated Plumtree very highly from the limited time I got to know him in New Zealand as a coach. He did well with Wellington in the NPC and was also successful with the Sharks in last year's Super 14 when they were on a roll early on.

The Sharks have struggled in Australia and New Zealand, and while they are a good side and will pick up wins, they're not going to get anywhere near the semifinals.

- © Fairfax NZ News