Gary Kemble

After several years working away from rugby league Kemble was named the coach of the Kiwis, filling the post left vacant by Brian McClennan in July 2007.[11]

Kemble's appointment to the position of the Kiwi coach was controversial from the outset, in part through no fault of his own. First of all, the departure of Brian McClennan to coach the Leeds Rhinos was confusing given his unprecedented success and popularity amongst the Kiwi players and the New Zealand rugby league public as well as his expressed desire to remain in the role.[12] Preventing McClennan from remaining in the role was a controversial clause whereby the NZRL will not consider anyone living outside New Zealand for coaching the Kiwis.[13] The NZRL were criticised severely for losing McClennan with rumours abound that he was "pushed" out of the role. Outspoken chairman Andrew Chalmers and Kemble's former coach Graham Lowe bore the brunt of public derision.[14]

Although Kemble had been an integral part of the New Zealand coaching structure for several years some questioned his credentials on the basis of his lack of experience coaching in a more rigorous competition such as Australasia's NRL or the Super League. However this argument was dismissed by the NZRL on the basis of the considerable success of Kemble's predecessor Brian McClennan who did come through the New Zealand coaching system to lead the Kiwis to victory in the 2005 Tri-Nations.

Kemble's test coaching career got off to the worst possible start both on and off the field. On 14 October 2007 the Kiwis suffered their largest ever defeat in the Centenary Test losing 58–0 to the Kangaroos at Westpac Trust Stadium in Wellington.[15] The evening following the test match a young woman claimed she was sexually violated by a group of men believed to be with the Kiwi side at the team hotel in Lower Hutt. The woman subsequently chose not to pursue the matter however several Kiwi players faced internal disciplinary action.[16]

Under Kemble the Kiwis went on to lose the first of their three test series against Great Britain going down 14–20 against the Lions at Huddersfield on 27 October 2007.[17] Following the loss an Australian newspaper reported that former Kiwi captain Hugh McGahan was concerned at Kemble's poor start and suggested that Australian former and current Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett should be pursued for the role.[18] McGahan later claimed that his comments had been grossly misreported by the journalist.

In the second test of the series on 3 November 2007, Kemble returned to Hull where he had spent a large portion of his playing days with Hull F.C. albeit to the newly built KC Stadium rather than The Boulevard where Hull FC played prior to it being built. It was to be a disastrous homecoming however as the Kiwis suffered their second humiliating defeat under Kemble when beaten 44–0 by an inspired Great Britain.[19] The win gave Great Britain an unassailable series lead leaving the Kiwis with only pride to play for in the final test at JJB Stadium in Wigan.

Intense criticism followed the 2nd Test loss, some of it directed at the players, some of it toward the management of the NZRL, however Kemble also copped severe criticism from some quarters with one commentator suggesting that Kemble "must be sacked at the series-end" and describing him as a "captain of calamity".[20] Following the loss, Kiwi's captain Roy Asotasi hinted at the possibility of internal issues for the players in adjusting to Kemble's coaching style when he compared Kemble's approach with that of his predecessor McClennan describing them as "very different" and reporting that the group was "still trying to gel".[21] Following the loss in an extremely frank admission Kemble acknowledged that he was contemplating resigning from his post if the Kiwis were whitewashed 3–0 by Great Britain.[22]

Despite a far more spirited performance in the 3rd Test the Kiwis were unable to prevent the whitewash losing 22–28 after leading 12–0 early in the match. Kemble was forthright in expressing his desire to remain Kiwi coach following the loss with the general feeling being that the loss was "close enough" for him to retain the position.[23] Kemble was the subject of some ridicule for post-match comments which suggested that the Kiwis "almost won the test series" despite an aggregated score of 92–36 across the three tests.[24]

The Kiwis beat France in the final test match of the tour 22–16 giving captain Roy Asotasi his first win as Kiwi captain.

On Saturday 18 January 2008, Gary Kemble resigned. Captain Roy Asotasi along with fellow Kiwi teammate David Kidwell had earlier expressed their concern publicly at the lack of respect they and other senior players held for the coach due to his inexperience at that level and deemed the 2008 World Cup already a failure if Kemble didn't receive some kind of help.