http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4359351a21536.html
NZRL must show loyalty to Kemble where players haven't
By TONY SMITH - The Press | Thursday, 17 January 2008
The New Zealand Rugby League cannot pander to player power and sack Gary Kemble as Kiwis coach.
But the national body has to tread a fine line on a stormy issue which threatens to cloud the Kiwis' World Cup build-up.
Do they stick to their guns, show some loyalty and and back their man? Or do they concede Kemble has lost the dressing room, bow to pressure from the side's two senior stalwarts and replace the former Kiwis fullback with Australian coaching legend Wayne Bennett?
Skipper Roy Asotasi was rapped over the knuckles by NZRL chairman Ray Haffenden on Monday for suggesting Kemble was out of his depth in last year's ill-starred campaign.
The simple solution then would have been to sack Asotasi as captain. He was only really in a holding role anyway while South Sydney clubmate David Kidwell was unavailable.
Kidwell always appealed as the likely leader for the World Cup in October and November. But now he has waded into the debate, saying the senior Kiwis do not have confidence in Kemble's coaching.
The NZRL board -- which meets tomorrow -- is now between a rock and a hard place.
They have to show some loyalty to Kemble to prove there remains a pathway for New Zealand-based coaches.
But do they risk losing Kidwell, Asotasi and others in World Cup year? The Rabbitohs' pair are the heart and soul of the New Zealand pack.
The obvious solution would be to leave Kemble as head coach for May's centenary test against Australia but appoint Bennett as a technical adviser.
Kemble was forced to field a massively under-strength side against Australia and Great Britain last spring and suffered record defeats.
But he should have his best players available for the Kangaroos' clash in Sydney.
That match should be Kemble's final trial. If the Kiwis are thrashed again, he should go.
In the interim, Asotasi, Kidwell and their anonymous Kiwi colleagues should keep their concerns in-house.
NZRL chairman Ray Haffenden hit the nail on the head when he said Asotasi "has shown no respect for the New Zealand coach's position. He has also shown little regard for the game's heritage and those Kiwi captains and players who have gone before him."
Asotasi apart, none of the Kiwis who pulled on the famous black jersey against Australia, Great Britain and France last spring can yet hold a candle to Kemble as a player. These were test tenderfoots, not NRL superstars.
It is irksome how coaches always carry the can in sport yet players rarely seem to accept accountability. Asotasi is one of the game's best front-rowers, yet he failed to lead from the front as skipper.
Gary Kemble may be a test coaching rookie, but it wasn't the coach who fell off all those tackles.