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.<\/p>\n
This time last year, Holland was part of the All Blacks\u2019 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\u2019s November internationals.<\/p>\n
The 53-year-old, who previously worked as an assistant coach for the Hurricanes<\/a> 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\u2019s assistants.<\/p>\n The Wellington-based outfit are currently setting the pace atop the Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Hurricanes leading the way on attack<\/p>\n Holland<\/a> 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\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n He feels his two-year stint in the international arena has certainly improved him as a coach and that has helped the Hurricanes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a good question because the irony is it\u2019s taught me to make sure I stay really simple and stay really clear around who I am and what I believe,\u201d he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod<\/a> when the show\u2019s host Ross Karl asked him what he brought back from the All Blacks<\/a> environment to the Hurricanes and how he has improved at what he does.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes when you go into that environment and just imagine a player coming into the ABs or out of a Mitre 10 into Super, it\u2019s a little bit like, \u2018Sh*t, I\u2019ve got to live up to the way we want to play here or how other people want to do things\u2019.<\/p>\n Hurricanes\u2019 \u2018insensitive\u2019 verdict on Ardie Savea talk in the wake of Moana Pasifika\u2019s demise<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like, be really clear around what are the simple things that you believe as a coach, how you want to coach and how you\u2019re going to get job satisfaction.<\/p>\n \u201cI got a real buzz out of helping the boys to work at something and then be better at it. That\u2019s as individuals and as a group.<\/p>\n \u2018That was fun to watch and fun to play\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThen be really clear on how I want to play, how I want to coach and how I\u2019m going to sit in the change rooms and have a beer at the end of the day and go, \u2018Sh*t, that was exactly what we tried to do and that was fun to watch and fun to play\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose it\u2019s just being really clear around who you are and how you\u2019re going to coach and what you believe and then fitting that into whatever team you\u2019re in is sort of what I\u2019ve picked up.\u201d<\/p>\n