Gary Kemble

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Gary Kemble
fullname = Gary Kemble
nickname = Crayfish


caption =
country =
position = Coach
currentclub =
dateofbirth =
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club1 = Hull FC
year1start = 1981
year1end = 1987
appearances1 = 195
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 = 180
teamA = New Zealand
yearAstart = 1980
yearAend = 1986
appearancesA = 19
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 4
coachteam1 = Northcote Tigers
coachyear1start = 1993
coachyear1end =
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coachteam2 = Hawkes Bay Unicorns
coachyear2start = 1994
coachyear2end = 1995
coachgames2 =
coachwin%2 =
coachpremierships2 =
coachteam3 = Auckland Warriors (res grade)
coachyear3start = 1997
coachyear3end =
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coachteam4 = Counties Manukau Jetz
coachyear4start = 2006
coachyear4end =
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coachpremierships4 =
coachteamA = Junior Kiwis
coachyearAstart = 1994
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coachwin%A =
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coachteamB = New Zealand (Asst Coach)
coachyearBstart = 1995
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coachteamC = NZ Residents XIII
coachyearCstart = 1995
coachyearCend = 1997
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Gary Kemble was the 27th Coach of the New Zealand national rugby league team (known as the Kiwis). He announced his immediate end to coaching the Kiwis after possibly the shortest reign in the job (155 Days) after succumbing to a number of heavy defeats to Australia and Great Britain squads late in 2007 End of Year Tests. He is a former Kiwi and played as one of the best fullbacks around (Kiwi No. 555).

=Controversy=On Saturday 18th January 2008, Gary Kemble resigned after coaching the Kiwis to their worst ever defeats to Australia and Great Britain. Captain Roy Asotasi along with fellow Kiwi teammate David Kidwell 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 Gary didn't receive some kind of help. Subsequently pressure from the media and public and with the respect for the jersey not to mention the best interests for the game, Gary quit and has made no mention whether or not he will coach again. It must be noted that a majority of the public saw Gary Kemble as being thrown into the deep end too early in his coaching term and without the use of 1st grade players, he was forced to coach a 2nd grade squad and against first class outfits the results were always going to speak for themselves. The New Zealand public view the NZRL Management as the current problem and have expressed concerns for likes of Graham Lowe to quit and a complete reshuffle of the board. Player welfare and Public perception is being greatly ignored and needs to be addressed immediately otherwise player backlash and further embarrassment for the New Zealand Rugby League may be inevitable.

=Playing Career=Kemble played rugby league at a senior level throughout the 1980s. His career included a lengthy stint with English club Hull during a golden period for the club. This included helping them to lift the Challenge Cup in the 1982 final at Wembley. Kemble played for Hull FC alongside his future Kiwi assistant coach James Leuluai and was amongst the first large group of New Zealand rugby league players to play their professional rugby league in England. He made 19 test appearances for the Kiwi's playing under Graham Lowe.

=Appointment to Kiwi Coach=Kemble had held a number of coaching posts, both at a club and at national level since 1993 including the Junior Kiwis, the New Zealand Residents, New Zealand A and the then Auckland Warriors' reserve grade side. 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. [http://www.rleague.com/db/article.php?id=28955]

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 [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/11/1976224.htm] . 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 [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4255400a10713.html] . 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. [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/417227/1228811]

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 Europe's 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.

=Kiwi Coaching Career=

2007 Centenary Test vs Australia

Kemble's test coaching career got off to the worst possible start both on and off the field. On 14th October 2007 the Kiwi's suffered their largest ever defeat in the Centenary Test losing 58-0 to the Kangaroos [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10469877] at Westpac Trust Stadium in Wellington. 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. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10471065]

2007 Kiwi tour of Great Britain and France

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 27th October 2007 [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4253322a10713.html] . Following the loss an Australian newspaper reported that former Kiwi captain Hugh McGahan was concerned at Kemble's poor start and suggested that former Australian and current Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett should be pursued for the role [http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,22664655-10389,00.html?from=public_rss] . McGahan later claimed that his comments had been grossly misreported by the journalist.

In the second test of the series on 3rd November 2007, Kemble returned to KC Stadium, the ground on which he had spent a large portion of his playing days with Hull. 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 [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10473933] . 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" [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10474041] . 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" [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=10474034] . 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. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10474276]

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. [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4269873a10713.html] 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. [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10475473]

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

=Personal Life=Gary Kemble is married to Stephanie and they have four sons. After his stint with the Auckland Warriors reserve grade side Kemble spent some time away from rugby league working in real estate for several years.