Incoming All Blacks assistant Jason Holland reflects on ‘special’ opportunity

For any rugby player or coach in New Zealand, contributing to the history of the All Blacks or Black Ferns is the “pinnacle.”

The legacy of the coveted black jersey is steeped in both tradition and prestige, as it represents a small rugby-mad nation at the bottom of the world.

Earlier this week, New Zealand Rugby announced the four assistant coaches who would join Scott Robertson in the All Blacks after this year’s World Cup.

Blues boss Leon MacDonald is one of them, and described his new opportunity with the All Blacks as a “dream job” earlier this week – saying it was the “pinnacle” of coaching in New Zealand.

Along with MacDonald, Crusaders assistant Scott Hansen and Hurricanes coach Jason Holland are joining the national setup.

Current All Black assistant Jason Ryan has retained his role as forwards coach.

One of MacDonald’s incoming colleagues at the All Blacks – who is currently coaching one of the New Zealand Super Rugby Pacific teams – echoed those comments in a recent interview.

Incoming assistant Jason Holland said that “without a doubt”, the opportunity to coach the All Blacks was a dream come true.

“Without a doubt,” Holland said on The Platform. “I’m loving my time at the Canes but at the same time, the All Blacks is something you aspire to.

“Probably think it’s out of reach as a young fella.

“As a player you aspire to it and now as a coach, so it’s pretty special.”

Super Rugby Pacific head coaches MacDonald and Holland had been linked with positions under Scott Robertson for a fair amount of time.

Holland somewhat confirmed the rumours earlier this month, revealing that he’d “had a chat” with Scott Robertson.

But after a successful stint in the capital, Holland will officially leave the Hurricanes at the end of the season to pursue this opportunity with the All Blacks.

But before then, it’s game on between the future colleagues.

“Before the end of Super footy, I can’t speak to the other guys but I’ll probably be keeping a few ideas in my head until the end of Super footy,” he added.

“But the minute that ends come June, even though contracts start on the first of November, the way Razor operates, we’ll be chatting non-stop about footy, watching footy, talking about footy.

“Super job to do first and we’ll compete pretty hard for the next seven or eight weeks, then your mind will change to really again which is we won’t want to knock off from rugby for long.”

Following their bye week, the Hurricanes will look to return to winning ways when they host the Brumbies on Friday night at Sky Stadium.

The Brumbies are currently second on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder, and will be eager to make a statement against their New Zealand opposition.

“We had a bye week last week so the boys had a bit of a freshen up last week.

“It’s a massive game.

“We’ve been really studying really why we’re not quite getting over the line in those big games, we’ve lost two big games with the Blues and the Chiefs.

“Brumbies are now second on the table and are a pretty good side so it’s a massive night for us.

“I think we’re in a good place to perform well.”