Former All Blacks assistant coach Mike Cron has weighed in on Jason Holland\u2019s departure from Scott Robertson\u2019s coaching set-up.<\/p>\n
Holland will conclude his involvement with the team at the end of the year after opting not to extend his contract beyond the November internationals.<\/p>\n
He will become the second assistant to leave Robertson\u2019s staff, following Leon MacDonald\u2019s departure last year, with the head coach citing an inability to get on the same page with the former Blues boss as the reason for his exit.<\/p>\n
This time around, both New Zealand Rugby and Robertson state that Holland decided to vacate his role<\/a>, but this has raised concerns of potential tension in the coaching staff.<\/p>\n Four All Blacks\u2019 mantras<\/p>\n Former All Blacks<\/a> scrum coach Cron<\/a>, who recently finished up a stint with the Wallabies but will continue to work with Rugby Australia, has weighed in on the \u2018unusual\u2019 exits of the assistant coaches.<\/p>\n Cron was involved with the team for 15 years under former head coaches Sir Graham Henry and Sir Steve Hansen, and detailed how highly they valued being on the same page, even when they disagreed.<\/p>\n \u201cI look back on my time in the All Blacks, I think it was 218 Tests, and you see a lot come and go, a lot of rule changes, a lot of different styles but what we did do is our coaching group were sort of united all the way through, whether it be Sir Graham Henry as head coach or Sir Steve Hansen \u2013 completely opposites,\u201d he told Sky Sports\u2019 Breakdown.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we did do is put the team first, individual second, we deal with brutal honesty, and we deal with inconvenient facts, and it didn\u2019t matter who got the job so long as the job got done.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we lived and died by those four mantras, and we had a lot of respect, internal respect, amongst coaching staff and group. We were very honest.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could challenge [one another], but once we walked out that coaches\u2019 door, we\u2019re all united, that was the big thing. Players are like children at times; they can understand if mom and dad have had an argument, and they can feel everything. So, you\u2019ve got to be really accurate as a coaching group, and if you are going to say we\u2019re going to disagree and commit, then you have to do that well.\u201d<\/p>\n All Blacks great fuels conspiracy theory over possible coaching rift amid \u2018a lot of confusion\u2019 under Scott Robertson<\/a><\/p>\n Cron was asked whether he thinks that buy-in with the idea of \u2018disagree and commit\u2019 is not there, which is leading to the departures and possible rift.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I would not be able to answer that accurately because apart from them coming into the shed after the Test, having a beer, a chat and catching up with all the boys that I had coached or management that I was involved\u2026 I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on in there,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unusual that we lose two coaches, MacDonald last year and now Jase [Holland] \u2013 both very good men and both very good coaches. So, I\u2019m not sure.\u201d<\/p>\n