Crowley: Talent hard to spot

BY TONY BIRD

Getting to spot the best rugby talent in a country as large as Canada is just one difficulty Kieran Crowley has had to come to grips with in his relatively short tenure as head coach.

The former All Black and Taranaki representative player and coach is back home on a fortnight's holiday, spending the Christmas-New Year break catching up with family and friends.

It is Crowley's first visit home in 18 months, since he shifted his family from New Plymouth to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, where they now live.

"Time's flown so we thought it was about time to come back," Crowley said yesterday. "The kids only get a couple of weeks off school because they are in the middle of their school year."

Crowley last season coached Canada to victory over the United State in a tough home-and-away competition to lock down a 2011 rugby World Cup spot.

"That was a major for us," Crowley said.

Canada wrapped up its latest international season with a comfortable 22-6 win over Russia before losing 27-6 to Japan.

Crowley said the main challenge Canada rugby was facing was setting a suitable playing schedule leading into the cup.

Currently Canada has three games in the June international window.

"We're trying to get games in other areas at other times and trying to get our programme in.

"But it's a changing landscape all the time, so it's a bit of a challenge to sort things out."

Crowley has been working alongside Canada's high-performance rugby director and, together with the help of the IRB, they have introduced a Canadian regional competition involving four regions.

"They had a three-week competition and then a crossover with America which was a big benefit.

"Hopefully, we can build on that because we just haven't got the games at the level that is needed."

Crowley is midway through a three-year contract with Rugby Canada which ends at the end of 2011 soon after the World Cup.

He said his tenure to date had been both enjoyable and rewarding.

Crowley said it took a while to reach a stage where he had a good grasp of the player talent pool available in what is the second largest country in the world.

"I think I know all the players over there now so I've got a handle on them.

"We've tried a few players at different times because a big challenge for us is that we have no competition between club matches and internationals. So the only gauge I can get is when I put them into international rugby."

Structural changes have been put in place and Crowley expects these to pay off in time.

"They had the system that the coach would jump on a plane and fly eight hours and watch a club game and pick a guy from that to play international rugby.

"You just can't do that."

Canada is scheduled to spend the first week of its World Cup campaign in New Zealand next year based at Kerikeri in the Far North. Canada meets Tonga first up in Whangarei before heading to Napier where the team will be based for 15 days.

"We play Japan and France [in Napier] and then we go to Wellington for the last three days because we've got the All Blacks to play down there." Crowley said.

He described the playing schedule as hectic.

"We've only got a four-day break between Tonga and France, then we've only got four days between Japan and the All Blacks.

"We'll be all right, though."

Crowley said early indications were there would be a large group of Canadian supporters heading to New Zealand for the World Cup. "A lot of people have said 'yes we're are coming' and they are really looking forward to it, but you don't really know exact numbers because the country's so big."

One of the best Christmas presents Crowley received was news his brother, Leo, had won the job as assistant coach of the Taranaki team. "I'm rapt for him. I thought he had a hard deal earlier on, but that's all in the past now and good luck to him.

"I know he is really looking forward to the challenge."

Crowley said wife Sue and children Jayden, Nicole and Casey had settled well into life in their new environment overseas.

"The people are great and the area we're in is a lot like [Taranaki] to be honest and the kids have adapted really well and are happy as."

Even the harsh winter conditions Canada experiences are not too bad, Crowley said.

"When we left the temperature was around minus five and there was snow a foot deep outside the front door.

"There's no wind so there's no chill factor. I've actually felt colder here sometimes than I did over."

- © Fairfax NZ News