Brian "Bluey" McClennan (born 16 February 1962) is a New Zealand former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer and coach. He was previously the head coach of the New Zealand national team (with whom he won the

2005 Tri-nations The 2005 Rugby League Tri-Nations was played in Great Britain and Australasia. The final was played between Australia and New Zealand at Elland Road on Saturday 26 November. New Zealand won the match 24-0 and were crowned 2005 Tri-Nations champio ...

) and then England's

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

club (with whom he won the 2008 and 2009

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

championships). McClennan also coached the Exiles team in the inaugural International Origin match in 2011 before being appointed head coach of

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

club, the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

but failing to complete the first season of his contract. McClennan is the son of former St. Helens coach

Mike McClennan Michael James McClennan (26 January 1944 – October 2019) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played for the New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand national team. McClennan went on to coach Auckland rugby league team and ...

Playing career

McClennan started his playing career at Mt Albert under the guidance of his dad,

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

. He played at Stand Off and also kicked goals.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' When his dad moved to Northcote in 1989, Brian also moved and was a part of the team which won the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

grand final that year. McClennan also represented

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and in what was to be his final representative game he captained the province to a win over the touring Great Britain side. However he played for Auckland again, including in the

Rugby League Cup The Rugby League Cup is a New Zealand rugby league trophy that is contested between districts on a challenge basis. The trophy used to be known as the Northern Union Challenge Cup. It is the oldest rugby league competition in New Zealand. Hist ...

challenge against Canterbury in 1994.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

, 1994. p.164 In 1994, while

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

at the

Hibiscus Coast Raiders The Hibiscus Coast Raiders are a rugby league club based on the Hibiscus Coast, New Zealand. They compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition and between 2000 and 2005 were also involved in the Bartercard Cup competition. Histor ...

he played several games for the

North Harbour Sea Eagles The North Harbour Sea Eagles were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented the North Shore and Rodney District in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. For the first two seasons they were coached by Graeme Norton. There two main feeder cl ...

.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

, 1994. p.102

Coaching career

New Zealand

Appointed the North Harbour rugby league development officer in 1994, McClennan assisted U16 Coach John Ackland at the

Auckland Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

in 1995. He then took over as coach of third division Auckland side, the

, and led them to repeated

successes until they were invited to be part of the national

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Ze ...

. He coached the

and

Mt Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 Auckland Rugby League season, 2009 ...

to championships in the

, and was then assistant coach for the Kiwis under Daniel Anderson.NZ coach seeking glory to leave adversity behind ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 14 October 2005
/ref> Despite this, his appointment in June 2005 as national coach of New Zealand was controversial, mainly because he had no top-level experience in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. However, he led New Zealand to an upset triumph in the

2005 Tri-Nations The 2005 Rugby League Tri-Nations was played in Great Britain and Australasia. The final was played between Australia and New Zealand at Elland Road on Saturday 26 November. New Zealand won the match 24-0 and were crowned 2005 Tri-Nations champio ...

series. New Zealand won the series final against

24–0 at

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

, England. It was Australia's first defeat in a series or tournament since 1978. The margin equalled Australia's biggest ever losing margin. In 2006, he coached the

Auckland Lions The Auckland Lions were a rugby league club that had teams in both the New Zealand Bartercard Cup and the NSWRL Premier League. They were mostly drawn from the Mt Albert Lions Rugby League club. Mt Albert had a proud tradition in Auckland and had ...

to the minor premiership in the Bartercard Cup. However the Kiwis lost both mid-season tests to the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey ...

and

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

. That year he received the

Rugby League International Federation The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. The IRL organises the Rugby League World Cup, the oldest international rugby World Cup, as well as the Women's and Wheelchair equivalen ...

's coach of the year award. In 2007 he served as Director of Football to help the Auckland Lions prepare for their entrance into the

NSWRL Premier League The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

before leaving to concentrate on the Kiwis for the rest of the season. In mid-2007 reports emerged that he was looking for a job in the

Super League

In July 2007,

announced that New Zealand national coach Brian McClennan would be joining the club as Head Coach on a two-year contract from 1 December 2007. McClennan subsequently resigned as national coach, his position taken up by

Gary Kemble Gary Edward Kemble (born 23 August 1956), also known by the nickname "Crayfish", is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player. He has both played and coached the New Zealand national rugby league team. He is the current head coach of t ...

in August 2007. In his first season as coach, the Rhino's won the

2008 World Club Challenge The 2008 Carnegie World Club Challenge was contested between Super League XII champions, the Leeds Rhinos and National Rugby League season 2007 premiers, the Melbourne Storm. For the fifth consecutive year the English home team defeated their Aust ...

, beating

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

11–4 at

. Later that year he coached Leeds to the 2008 Super League Grand Final victory over St Helens. The following year he achieved the same feat, beating St Helens 18–10 in the

2009 Super League Grand Final The 2009 Super League Grand Final was the 12th official Grand Final and conclusive and championship-deciding match of the Super League XIV season. It was held on Saturday 10 October 2009, at Old Trafford, Manchester, and was contested by defendi ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. He coached Leeds to the 2010 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. McClennan resigned after 2010's

Super League XV Engage Super League XV was the official name for the 2010 Super League season. Fourteen teams competed over 27 rounds. The season officially kicked off on 5 February with the Crusaders versus the Leeds Rhinos on 29 January at Crusaders' new homeg ...

, returning to New Zealand and working for the

as their development and coaching manager. In 2011, McClennan was announced as the first coach of the

Exiles Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

, a team made up of Australian and New Zealand players contracted to

clubs. The Exiles defeated

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in June in the first International Origin Match, a fixture intended to become an annual contest.

NRL

On 1 August 2011, McClennan was appointed

Ivan Cleary Ivan Cleary (born 1 March 1971) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 199 ...

's replacement as head coach of

side, the

for the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

seasons, as Cleary had signed on to coach the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

at the end of the 2011 season. After eight wins in 22 matches, including two losses after leading by 18 points, a 45–4 loss at home to the Sharks and a 52–12 loss to the Cowboys in consecutive weeks, McClennan was sacked by the Warriors.McClennan dismayed at Warriors axing
stuff.co.nz, 21 August 2012

References

External links

Leeds profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClennan, Brian 1962 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team coaches Auckland rugby league team players Exiles rugby league team coaches Hibiscus Coast Raiders coaches Leeds Rhinos coaches Mount Albert Lions coaches Mount Albert Lions players New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand Warriors coaches North Harbour rugby league team players Northcote Tigers players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Auckland