SJ and SJ hunting a fairytale in Pacific Championships

Former Kiwis coach Brian McClennan believes there are parallels between Shaun Johnson’s return from retirement and the stunning comeback by Stacey Jones in his side’s historic 2005 triumph.

Jones, who will coach New Zealand for the first time in Sunday’s Test against Australia in Christchurch, was coaxed out of international retirement by McLennan after injuries to Benji Marshall and Thomas Leuluai.

The halfback great had played his last NRL match seven weeks earlier, scoring the winning try in the Warriors 22-20 defeat of Manly, but answered an SOS from McClennan to lead the Kiwis to victory in the Tri-Nations final against Australia.

Now McClennan believes history can repeat after Jones convinced Johnson to delay his retirement and play in the Pacific Championships against Australia and Tonga following injuries to star halves Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown.

“There are a lot of parallels,” McClennan told NRL.com.

“I think the power of the Kiwi jersey and the camaraderie of the Kiwis team has a lot of pull. That was what grabbed Stacey and that’s what has got Shaun.”

Like Jones, Johnson bowed out of the NRL in style after inspiring a stunning 30-28 comeback win against the Sharks, but he now has the chance to write another chapter in his storied career.

“Shaun has put his hand up for the Kiwis when they are in need, and I am sure he is going to go really well,” McClennan said. “He has been the half in a Four Nations win before.

“The Kiwi team has a history of improving in tournaments and the reason for that is the team spirit and the connections that everyone makes. Shaun would have felt the power of the Kiwi jersey, just as Stacey did.

“With Stacey, it was just ‘play one more Test for us’, but what he did back then, with Ruben Wiki and Nigel Vagana and all the boys, was just phenomenal.”

With wife Rachelle pregnant, Jones was a week-by-week proposition in the 2005 campaign but after playmaker Lance Hohaia was injured in the 38-28 defeat of Australia - their first against the Kangaroos in Sydney for 46 years – he agreed to join the squad in England.

The Kiwis played Great Britain twice – winning 42-26 in London and losing 38-12 in Huddersfield to qualify for the final against Australia, before Jones flew home for the birth of son William.

He returned six days later to steer the Kiwis to a 24-0 win at Elland Road - the first loss by the Kangaroos in a series or tournament since 1978 – despite not training with the team, which was captained by Ruben Wiki and included Nigel Vagana at five-eighth.

“I had a few meetings with Bluey [McClennan] early on when he was trying to talk me into playing,” Jones recounted in the book, The Year the Kiwis Flew: From Wooden Spooners to Winners.

Bluey told me I had some unfinished business playing for the Kiwis and that no-one deserved it more than me.

“Bluey told me I had some unfinished business playing for the Kiwis and that no-one deserved it more than me.

“When things came unstuck with Benji Marshall and Thomas Leuluai, I started to think, ‘something is going on here. Maybe it’s meant to be, that I must have to do it’.

“When Lance got injured in Sydney, Bluey asked me to play one more match. That’s how it worked until the end of the tournament basically.

“I was definitely going home for the baby no matter what, so Bluey said he’d organise a flight straight after the birth to be back in England in time for the final.

“It was great to be home for the birth and Rachelle was sweet about me playing in the final. All she was worried about was whether I could do it with all the flying, going all that way in such a short time and then playing.

“The way it worked out for us in the final was something you dream of, really. I was a bit emotional at the end. We just couldn’t believe it really. It was such an awesome feeling.”  

With Hughes, Brown, Brandon Smith, Jeremy Marshall-King, Joey Manu, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Kieran Foran unavailable through injury or suspension, Jones will blood five Test debutants in Christchurch.

However, McClennan is confident that if anyone can get the best out of the Kiwis side it is Jones, who played 46 Tests in the black jersey and was an assistant to Michal Maguire in last year’s successful Pacific Championships campaign.

“Stacey is the perfect man for the job, he has been there and done it as a player, he has been an assistant coach and a caretaker coach [with the Warriors]. He has got really good experience in coaching,” McClennan said.

“One of the things I love about Stacey is that when he finished playing he never assumed that he should go straight in and get a coaching role in the NRL.

"He started in grassroots [with Point Chevalier Pirates] and that shows you how humble he is. He is a good man, and the players will resonate with that.

“It is a challenging start for him, but I know Stacey and I know the power of the Kiwi jersey for the players.”