Rugby’s top 20 coaches of all time

Stephen Jones is a Welsh journalist who has been the rugby union correspondent for The Times and The Sunday Times for more than 20 years. He was twice named sports correspondent of the year by the Sports Journalists’ Association.

He is noted for his controversial and often provocative views, in particular his anti-Irish and anti-New Zealand tirades that have drawn much scorn from all corners of rugby.

Jones puts out for The Times an article each week called the Rolling Maul. It’s a great personal perspective and anthology on rugby matters and seeing that the British & Irish Lions tour South Africa in two weeks, I found Jone’s take on rugby’s top 20 coaches of all time quite illuminating in so far as his ranking has as its top coach Ian McGeechan (who arrives in South Africa with the Lions along with another coaching maestro, Warren Gatland) and its glaring omission of some South African coaches.

The Lions squad was picked four weeks ago and their planning has been meticulous, from what I have been exposed to, while South Africa announce their Springbok squad on June 1, which begs the question, “If you fail to plan, your plan will fail?”

Top 20 coaches of all time by Jones:

1. Ian McGeechan (Scotland, Lions, Northampton, Wasps) — no doubts. In terms of longevity, great one-off wins, Test glory and trophies, the rest are lagging way back.

2. Fred Allen (New Zealand) — dynamic coach behind a dynamic team, the 1967 All Blacks, full of rugby nous and brilliance.

3. Sir Clive Woodward (England) — ah, say the know-alls. He wasn’t really a coach. He dominated the Southern Hemisphere with England and won the World Cup. You’d love a non-coach like that.

4. Bob Dwyer (Australia) — epic builder of the 1991 World Cup team and allowed genius to flourish.

5. Carwyn James (Llanelli and Lions) — sadly, never had the chance to show longevity but the absolute master of New Zealand with the 1971 Lions.

6. John Hart (New Zealand) — his All Black team of the early 1990s was brilliant and although the era owed something to Laurie Mains, it was Hart who was the genius.

7. Ray Williams (Wales) — father of modern rugby coaching, master strategist at the birth of the profession.

8. Jack Rowell (Bath and England) — did not quite bring his A-game to England, who were hidebound at the time, but sheer, perennial brilliance inspired Bath’s greatest days and years.

9. Graham Henry (Wales, Lions and New Zealand) — didn’t quite complete the job with Wales or, in 2003, with New Zealand, but a master who may yet fulfil the dream.

10. Nick Mallett (Everyone) — has coached too many good teams in too many different environments to be deemed anything less then outstanding.

11. Warren Gatland (Waikato, Wasps, Wales) — a prophet without honour in his own land but steely and cutting to the chase and winning trophies elsewhere.

12. Marcelo Loffreda (Argentina) — could easily have been higher. A sensational coach of the sensational 2003 Pumas.

13. Declan Kidney (Munster and Ireland) — Heineken Cups and a Grand Slam. What else is there, exactly?

14. Bob Templeton (Australia) — the finest of men and finest of coaches, a giant of a previous era.

15. Robbie Deans (Crusaders and Australia) — the master of Super Rugby and now reviving the Wallabies successfully.

16. Jacques Fouroux (France) — sat at the wheels of a giant tractor in France, he won a Grand Slam on the back of a huge pack, pipping Pierre Berbizier in France.

17. Jake White and Kitch Christie (South Africa) — you cannot argue with a World Cup.

19. Paul Turner (Bedford, Rugby, London Welsh, Sale, Saracens Gloucester, Harlequins, Dragons) — the man with all the contacts and coaching skills, and none of the budget, still keeping the ball in play at Newport.

20. Mark Bates (clubless) — giant in every sense, IT master, effective with slow ball and silly six.

I can surely list another top 10 coaches to make it the top 30, but here we have two of the top 20 coaches coming up against South African teams in two weeks.

The next six weeks are going to be a blast!

Which coaches do you think should have been included?