How Wayne Smith Built the All Blacks, Crusaders & Black Ferns Into Winning Cultures episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 28, 2026 · 1H 5M

How Wayne Smith Built the All Blacks, Crusaders & Black Ferns Into Winning Cultures

from Hunger & Heart with Kaila Colbin

Sir Wayne Smith — aka “The Professor” — is one of the most decorated coaches in New Zealand rugby history. In this conversation he opens up the systems behind decades of winning.The season the All Blacks spat into vials so a scientist could map their hormones — and why every fix was cultural, not chemical. The Henry V video that rebuilt a last-placed Crusaders side. The honesty card players handed back when a teammate broke the standards — and the cards Smith found pushed under his hotel door on tour. Why he doesn't believe in team talks. Why he wore sunglasses to speak to one All Black before games. What the self-coached 1924 Invincibles still teach anyone leading a team a century later.And then there's the Black Ferns: the party bus that traumatised him until Kendra Cocksedge told him to stop asking about the music, the coin toss where his captain overruled him, and what coaching the women's game taught him about how different teams find their best.▶ Want to learn these systems from the inside? Explore the Crusaders Leadership Programme™: https://crusadersleadership.com/▶ Register for the upcoming Crusaders Leadership Programme™: https://bomanz.myshopify.com/products/clp?variant=42228067205233–Hunger & Heart is brought to you by the Crusaders Leadership Programme™. Whether you're coaching under-5s or a professional team, we all want the same thing: to build cultures of trust, get the best out of our people, and grow players into leaders.The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ lets you get up close and personal with some of the greatest rugby legends of all time — people like Sir Wayne Smith, Sam Whitelock, and Kieran Read.  You'll connect with a global group of ambitious, caring coaches from a range of codes and backgrounds, and most importantly, you'll gain skills and techniques to drive impact and outcomes for your team.  The Crusaders Leadership Programme™ is a two-week high-intensity virtual experience.  It is delivered exclusively online, accessible from anywhere. Hunger and heart Listeners get 10% off the full price of the program. Use the code HUNGER at checkout. Find out more: crusadersleadership.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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