Jason Holland has revealed how his time spent as an All Blacks assistant coach has come in handy now that he has a similar position with the Hurricanes.
This time last year, Holland was part of the All Blacks’ coaching staff under former boss Scott Robertson. Holland concluded his involvement with the men in black after opting not to extend his contract beyond last year’s November internationals.
The 53-year-old, who previously worked as an assistant coach for the Hurricanes from 2016 to 2019 and then head coach from 2020 to 2023, returned to his old club to work as one of current Hurricanes boss Clark Laidlaw’s assistants.
The Wellington-based outfit are currently setting the pace atop the Super Rugby Pacific standings as they have amassed 30 points from seven matches played, three more than their nearest rivals the Chiefs, who have played an extra game and who will host the Hurricanes in an eagerly anticipated New Zealand derby showdown in Hamilton on Saturday.
Hurricanes leading the way on attack
Holland has helped the Hurricanes to strengthen their attack this year and his influence in that department has contributed to them topping the charts for most tries scored (47) during this year’s campaign.
He feels his two-year stint in the international arena has certainly improved him as a coach and that has helped the Hurricanes.
“It’s a good question because the irony is it’s taught me to make sure I stay really simple and stay really clear around who I am and what I believe,” he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod when the show’s host Ross Karl asked him what he brought back from the All Blacks environment to the Hurricanes and how he has improved at what he does.
“Sometimes when you go into that environment and just imagine a player coming into the ABs or out of a Mitre 10 into Super, it’s a little bit like, ‘Sh*t, I’ve got to live up to the way we want to play here or how other people want to do things’.
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“It’s like, be really clear around what are the simple things that you believe as a coach, how you want to coach and how you’re going to get job satisfaction.
“I got a real buzz out of helping the boys to work at something and then be better at it. That’s as individuals and as a group.
‘That was fun to watch and fun to play’
“Then be really clear on how I want to play, how I want to coach and how I’m going to sit in the change rooms and have a beer at the end of the day and go, ‘Sh*t, that was exactly what we tried to do and that was fun to watch and fun to play’.
“I suppose it’s just being really clear around who you are and how you’re going to coach and what you believe and then fitting that into whatever team you’re in is sort of what I’ve picked up.”
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Holland admitted that coaching in the international arena is different to any other “level” of the game.
“It’s another level, there’s no doubt about it. It’s another level around pressure and time and space from an attack coach point of view,” he explained.
“The detail and the simplicity you can give the players is even more than maybe a young fellow, I reckon. You give the ABs the calibre of player that’s in there, the simplicity and a real clear intent of how you’re going to play, they’ve got the skill set to do it.
“It gets simpler as you get further up the level, I reckon, as far as how simple you need to be to let the boys play.”