HAPPY FRANK
One of Rugby League’s great international coaches, Frank Endacott led New Zealand to three wins over Australia and a further seven over Great Britain (or England) between 1995 and 2000.
He coached them in two World Cups and came within an ace of winning the 1999 Tri-
Series Final against Australia.
“Happy Frank”, as he was universally known, also coached New Zealand Warriors and Wigan, where he was crowned Super League coach of the year in 2000.
RR: If you could relive one day from your career, which would it be?
FE: I’d like to have the 2000 World Cup Final again and this time win it. And a few weeks before that, Wigan lost the Grand Final to St Helens. Losing twice at Old Trafford in such a short space of time was no fun, so I’d like those two days again.
RR: Tell us about your time as a player.
FE: I played for the 15-year-old Kiwis against Australia and then first grade for about ten years in Canterbury. My playing career stopped abruptly when my wife’s parents died quite close together, and we had two families to bring up. I had one year in rugby union when there was no grade in league, so I was playing against All Blacks when I was 17 and then against Kiwis from the age of 19. I would have loved to play for the Kiwis, but it wasn’t meant to be.
RR: Which prominent players played for you when you coached the Junior Kiwis?
FE: I coached them in 1992 when we beat the Aussies for the first time in history -and we beat them good. Joe Vagana was in that side. The two centres were a future All Black captain in Tana Umaga and a future Kiwi captain in Ruben Wiki. Then we went on a 12-game, two-month tour of England in 1993, which was terrific. A lot of parents told me their son went away as a lad and came back a man. We won eleven games, including the Test at Wembley. Henry Paul was on that tour and ended up playing for the senior squad because of injuries.