Happy All Blacks XV tour a bigger boost to Jamie Joseph’s chances than Highlanders wins
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
ANALYSIS: Five months before the Highlanders beat the Crusaders on Friday, New Zealand Rugby was already confident that Jamie Joseph was making the southerners more competitive.
Since-departed high performance director Mike Anthony told The Post it was one of the reasons that Joseph was offered the All Blacks XV job, as well as positive feedback from the Highlanders playing group. “Players trust him,” Anthony said.
But interpreting Joseph’s mere appointment as All Blacks XV coach as a sure sign he would be the next All Blacks coach is only a half-truth, at best.
In fact, Joseph could have torched his chances if that All Blacks XV tour had turned to custard.
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The Post understands that NZ Rugby was not unaware of some churn among Highlanders’ assistant coaches - Tom Donnelly, Dave Dillon, Kenny Lynn and Riki Flutey have left in recent times - and were keen to see how Joseph operated with younger All Blacks XV assistants such as Cory Jane and Jamie Mackintosh.
Jane and Mackintosh came from the newer generation of coaches more inclined to seek collaboration in their approach - as well as being naturally laidback characters.
The ingredients for conflict were there - New Zealand under-20s coach Milton Haig was incompatible with his younger assistants last year - but The Post understands it was a happy camp, with Joseph giving his assistants some rope after they won his trust while also putting his foot down before the All Blacks XV’s biggest game on tour, the 31-14 win against England A in Bath.
Joseph is who he is - there will always be an element of old school in him - but his chances of being the next All Blacks coach would be zero if he was the same coach who won Super Rugby in 2015.
That hard-nosed approach wouldn’t work in 2026, but the self-awareness and evolution that NZ Rugby needs to see was evident in the All Blacks XV tour.
NZ Rugby’s assessment of coaches is also a mix of formal and informal, and when former chief executive Mark Robinson shared a few beers with Joseph and spent some time inside the All Blacks XV dressing room after the final tour game - a 45-21 win against Uruguay in France - his impressions were understood to be favourable.
Recognising when to push and when to pull back will likely always be a “work-on” for Joseph, but the successful All Blacks XV tour is a bigger factor in his favour than has been acknowledged so far.
Whether it is decisive remains to be seen, because Dave Rennie is an extremely well-credentialled candidate who has already got the thumbs-up from some good judges.
In timely fashion, Rennie’s Kobe beat Todd Blackadder’s Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan Rugby League One at the weekend, with Richie Mo’unga missing a late conversion to win the game.
While New Zealanders generally look down their noses at the Japanese competition, it is proving hard work for some big-name coaches.
Steve Hansen and Ian Foster’s Toyota Verblitz are currently last on the 12-team ladder, despite splashing the cash on players such as Mark Tele’a, and are in increasing danger of being relegated.
Rennie, by contrast, is sitting comfortably in third and Kobe look well set to have a real crack at the title this year.
NZ Rugby is therefore looking at two potential All Blacks coaches who are clearly still evolving their craft, a trait that is more important than relying on past deeds.