Being Frank

Frank Endacott was the longest serving, and most successful, Kiwis rugby league coach, and only the second New Zealander after Graham Lowe to have coached at international level as well as in the Australian and British professional competitions. During his term, he lifted the kiwis into a second place in the international rankings above Great Britain, and beat Australia in one-off tests over three consecutive seasons. But it was far from plain sailing. Endacott was sacked when the Lowe-Boyle-Tainui group took over the Warriors in late 1998, and sacked from Wigan in 2001, soon after signing a new two-year contract and despite taking the club to the British Grand Final and being chosen as Coach of the Year in his first season. He speaks out on all these events for the first time. Previously, Endacott had lifted Canterbury to top ranking in New Zealand after decades of Auckland dominance, and coached the Junior Kiwis to their first win over their Australian counterparts. This work is the biography of this celebrated coach.