Centralisation of Aussie rugby key to appointment of Wallabies coach and director, but who are the contenders?
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan is refusing to follow Eddie Jones out the door, but will not have his fingerprints on the next Wallabies coach after the Jones fiasco.
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Even before Eddie Jones’ sudden resignation, Rugby Australia officials were discussing the need for a distinguished panel to oversee the appointment of the next Wallabies coach.
The need to be as far removed from a “captain’s pick”, which saw chairman Hamish McLennan rocket Jones into the role after sacking Dave Rennie at the start of the year, is driving the new approach.
It has been suggested World Cup winning-coach Rod Macqueen could feature on such a panel.
The contenders for the job are a mixed bag, but interestingly, talk has also emerged that RA is interested in luring back David Nucifora to a director of rugby role.
Nucifora has already knocked back RA a few times, with one of the sticking points being his unwillingness to work with Jones. That obstacle has now been cleared.
But RA must clearly define what the director of rugby role is, how that will work in with the head coach, and the parameters of the job.
And before it can do that, it must sort of a centralised model.
Of course, RA is facing resistance from most of the states on centralisation. They agree that the professional rugby system – everything pertaining to player contracting, selections, strength and conditioning programs and resting policies – are necessary and will support this.
However, they do not want RA controlling their finances, which is the only way the governing body sees a centralised model working.
The situation is at an impasse, which means appointing a replacement for Jones will likely be bogged down by a steady stream of processes, negotiations and agreements on what the big picture finally looks like.
Stephen Larkham, Dan McKellar, Michael Cheika, Ian Foster, Simon Raiwalui and Darren Coleman have all been floated by various parties as candidates for the head coaching role from 2024.
Whoever is given the keys will be put through a far more intensive interview process than Jones by McLennan and the RA board, who now bear the brunt of criticism for one the biggest failures in Wallabies history.
Despite the ongoing pressure, McLennan is adamant he won’t resign and believes he’s the best person to lead Australian rugby out of this mire.
“Yeah, I do,” McLennan told The Roar.
“I want the game to be fixed. I know more about what needs to be done than ever before.
“You guys can write that you think I should be shot, I don’t care. My life goes on. I’m not a quitter.”
McLennan added: “It’s all very amicable with Eddie and I’ll always be grateful for him jumping in when he did.
“Like Michael Cheika, another great Aussie coach heads to another country.
“Don’t channel your anger to Eddie, channel it to the system that needs changing. We’ve been saying Australian rugby needs to centralise and now is the time to do it.
“Despite what the sceptics say, with the Lions in 2025 and the World Cups in 2027 (men’s) and 2029 (women’s), we’ll be financially fine. The question is whether the rugby community will change to a centralised model and grasp the opportunity?
“We haven’t won the Bledisloe in 22 years. What more evidence do you need? The system is broken.”
Originally published as Centralisation of Aussie rugby key to appointment of Wallabies coach and director, but who are the contenders?
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