Phil Mooney believes he never really got a fair go.
He is not bitter. That is not in his nature.
But in his two seasons involved with Otago, one as a head coach, the next as a co-coach, it was like he had one hand tied behind his back.
He said he enjoyed the time with Otago rugby, and met some great people, and believes he has put in systems which he hopes makes for a smoother passage for new coaches Tony Brown and Phil Young.
But as a professional coach, you live and die on the scoreboard. Mooney's results were not great - he lost more than he won with Otago - but it was two years of frustration as he failed to get the team he wanted on to the paddock.
"That is where there is still work to be done. Mike Moeahu is a very good coach, Dave Latta is a very good coach. Can Otago not afford to have him?
"I don't think they can. They are two of the better ones and they are not coaching in the Otago system."
Mooney said the Otago board had a far bigger role to play than he expected, and he did not have much input into signing players.
"There would not be too many other places where the role from governance by the board steps into management to the degree where it did here.
"I have worked in three other professional organisations [Queensland rugby, Brisbane Broncos league team and Queensland academy of sport] and the intervention from the board is far greater here than any other place.
"If you want to hold people accountable, let them have the authority and be responsible for the job.
"It is fairly common knowledge that Laurie [board member Laurie Mains]picked a lot of the players. If they want to hold me accountable, then give me the authority, then judge me. I did not have the authority to have that.
"I get judged on my results. And I think any person if they want to be judged on how they perform, they want to have a pretty big say in how they can do their job."
Mooney said there were some players he would have picked and others he would not have. When asked how many he signed, he admitted "not a lot".
He is not upset about the experience and had learnt from it. Although he did get frustrated about the situation at times, he never let it get the better of him.
He felt the board quickly formed an opinion of him.
"Basically, I have only ever spoken to the board once in two years . . . they have got an opinion of me. Never been to a training. Never spoke to players. Don't know how they can be so informed."
He said Mains never trained the team although he made it fairly plain what team should be picked and how it should play.
"It was a pretty unique working environment. It was frustrating initially but then I thought if I worried about that then I would not be concentrating on what I was meant to be doing."
Mooney said there was plenty of talent in Otago, though the pool would never be deep because of the population.
He felt the side had made progress this year and the union had moved forward in his two years.
"When I got here it was a real eye opener, just the lack of systems co-ordination between it all. The clubs [were] all a little bit distant.
The academy was a separate entity, with no alignment. Now the communication between the local coaches is a lot better.
"Tony and Phil have to be judged, and if we want Otago to be highly competitive, they need to be given a mandate of at least three years. Don't judge them on one year, judge them on three years minimum."
Mooney is going back to his home town, Brisbane, where he will be rugby director for the Wests club.
A similar role is being created with the Otago union and Mooney said there were initial discussions about him becoming involved but they never progressed.
"It is an excellent job, a great job, providing the person can run their own race. Yes, they have to report to the board, follow guidelines and all that - but let them do their job."
Mooney's first season in 2010 was a shocker, with the side winning two of 13 games and finishing dead last. Latta was culled from the coaching team and Andy Hunter was installed as co-coach with Mooney.
"That first year was hard. When I got here, the Otago programme was basically an elite club team which started training two months before hand. Now, we've got proper structures in place to get the guys well prepared.
"Some guys have only scratched the surface. Next year you would expect them to be physically better. That is professional footy. You can't do it in two months. It is 11 months a year."
Mooney on . . .
- Highlights
That Auckland win was pretty special. Other highlights were seeing these young guys get nursed through, seeing them push through to the next level. Having had the privilege to work with Adam Thomson, Tom Donnelly, Kees [Meeuws] and Tony [Brown], and Alando [Soakai], I could see how they go about their business. I consider myself an Otago person now and to see Adam part of the winning World Cup team was a huge buzz.
- Players of the future
I don't want to put any pressure on these young players. But Michael Collins is an excellent signing. He has a really good temperament. Liam Coltman can go a long way, and I'm not just talking about the Highlanders.
