Jamie Joseph was appointed as the new coach of the Wellington Lions at the end of 2007, taking over from Aussie McLean who stepped aside as planned a the end of his one-year in charge to concentrate exclusively on his role as Hurricanes Assistant Coach.
The 37-year-old former All Blacks blindside flanker was McLean's assistant coach and part of the successful coaching team which guided the Lions to the Air New Zealand Cup final in October, and previously was involved as a specialist lineout coach with the team.
As forwards coach in 2007, and with the nucleus of the forward pack away with the All Blacks, Joseph was widely credited with bringing in several new players to the team and guiding them all the way to the final week of the season. Players such as Api Naikatini, Jacob Ellison, Dane Coles and Faifili Levave (now with Waikato) were all successfully injected into last year's competition and quickly found their feet at the provincial level.
Joseph has a new assistant too in former Otago teammate Andre Bell, a former Bay of Plenty coach who took the Steamers to the quarterfinals of the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup in 2006.
Upon his appointment, Joseph said he was delighted at the prospect of coaching the Lions in the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup.
"This is a big challenge for me personally. This year the All Blacks were away for most of the tournament which meant that we had to bring on a whole new set of forwards, and I'm very pleased with the way that the youngsters stepped up. They made giant strides and I'm looking forward to helping with their continued development.
"In 2008 we face a different sort of challenge, working with some players who have three different sets of coaches throughout the year with the All Blacks, Hurricanes and Lions. It's my job to keep them focused on the Air New Zealand Cup and allow them to utilise the best that they have learnt from their other coaching influences."
"The teams that tend to win Championships are the same teams that are committed at the start of the season as much as they are at the end of the season and not just relying on talent and All Blacks to get them to win a final."
Joseph brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience to his first role in charge of an Air New Zealand Cup team, first as an All Black in 30 matches including 20 Tests and then as a player and coach for Japanese team Sanix for several seasons.
He made his All Blacks debut at Athletic Park in 1992 against the World XV in the series to mark the centenary of the New Zealand Rugby Union. Later that year he scored a memorable try against the Wallabies in Sydney in a pulsating 26-23 win, while his last Test was on the biggest stage of all in the 1995 World Cup final against South Africa at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
Following that World Cup he transferred to Sanix and later played for the Japanese Cherry Blossoms at the 1999 World Cup. Seven years on from leaving New Zealand he returned to live in Wellington, spent a season in 2003 playing for Old Boys-University, became a publican and further evolved his coaching