"Little General" Stacey Jones named as Kiwis coach

By Michael Burgess

Stacey Jones has been appointed as Kiwis coach.

The Warriors’ assistant was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon as the new man in charge, following Michael Maguire’s exit last November.

Jones said it was massive honour, comparing the moment to when he first played for the Kiwis in 1995.

“Its means a huge amount,” said Jones. “It’s kinda like when you make your debut and get picked for the Kiwis that first time. It’s got that feeling about it. It’s really special. I’ve got a big responsibility and confident I can do a really good job.”

The New Zealand Rugby League endorsed the decision in a board meeting on Wednesday, after their appointments panel had decided that the 47-year-old former Kiwis’ great was the man for the job.

The panel comprised former Kiwis Tawera Nikau and Motu Tony (who is head of high performance at the NZRL) along with former Kiwis Fern great Honey Hireme-Smiler, High Performance Sport New Zealand respresentative Eddie Kohlhase and NZRL CEO Greg Peters.

They plumped for Jones despite interest from legendary Australian Wayne Bennett among other contenders.

The presence of Bennett in the race had turned heads, given his resume and previous work in the international game. Apart from his myriad club and State of Origin achievements, the 74-year-old has coached Australia and England, as well as his famous role assisting Stephen Kearney with the Kiwis, which culminated in the 2008 World Cup win.

Peters confirmed there was a shortlist of three people interviewed but declined to offer further details.

“I’m not going to talk about other candidates, out of respect to them,” said Peters. “Not an appropriate thing to do.”

He added that Jones was “miles ahead” of any other contenders.

Jones, a former Kiwis captain, turned out in 46 tests and is regarded as one of the best to wear the black and white V.

He has been coaching for the best part of 15 years, though mainly in assistant roles at the Warriors, under Andrew McFadden, Stephen Kearney, Todd Payten and Nathan Brown.

Jones also worked under Maguire and other Kiwis coaches.

Jones acknowledged some will question his lack of head coaching experience but said he was ready.

“I’ve been an assistant coach for a long time and eventually sometimes, assistant coaches get promoted to other positions,” said Jones. “What I’ve done at the Warriors, the learning curves I’ve gone through there and I feel like I’ve been part of the Kiwis for a long enough time to be promoted to this positon. I wouldn’t have applied for the role if I didn’t know I was capable of stepping up.”

He has yet to decide on assistants and other staff but has people in mind. Jones will continue with his Warriors role and feels the two jobs are complimentary.

“It’s important to be around the footy game, day in, day out,” said Jones. “I’m still learning lots of stuff from a day to day coach.”

Jones was also grateful to the Warriors for the opportunities they had provided him and for supporting his bid for the Kiwis role.

“This is a huge honour for me,” admitted Jones.

“It was a special privilege to play for my country and to now have the chance to coach the Kiwis is both exciting and humbling.

“I’ve enjoyed working with the Kiwis over the last few years and seeing the team develop under Madge (Michael Maguire). I’ve learnt so much being involved with such a special group of players.”

Peters was delighted to be appointing “an absolute legend”.

“Stacey has served a lengthy apprenticeship with the Warriors and has also been with us as a long-term assistant coach with the Kiwis,” said Peters.

“It’s personally pleasing to see him rewarded with this appointment.

“Not only is he an outstanding individual with a deep knowledge and understanding of ‘The Kiwi Way’, he is a technically astute coach who understands what it takes to operate at the top international level.

“We are grateful to the Warriors for supporting his appointment and allowing him the time to do it.

“We are also excited about the opportunity this appointment provides to bring the game closer together in New Zealand by strengthening the connection with the Warriors.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission