Super Rugby: John Connolly says he won’t coach Reds next season

JOHN Connolly has scuttled speculation he had ambitions to coach the Reds next year but he will be making a recommendation on the coaching team that will.

Reds coaching shake-up...Richard Graham and John Connolly

JOHN Connolly has scuttled speculation he had ambitions to coach the Reds next year but he will be making a recommendation on the coaching team that will.

Connolly has been out of top coaching for nearly eight years, since he lead the Wallabies to the 2007 World Cup, but insisted he’d kept up to speed on current trends.

“My aspirations aren’t to coach Queensland again but about helping to organise the picture for the future,” Connolly said on his first day back in a tracksuit.

“I’ve done some clinics in New Zealand and South Africa and I’ve always been an ardent watcher of the game so, as much as the game changes it stays the same in key areas.”

As of Tuesday, only forwards coach Nick Stiles is guaranteed a position in the Reds coaching regime next season with handshakes already exchanged on a new three-year deal.

Head coach Richard Graham said on Monday he has “no guarantees” on a position beyond the final five rounds of Super Rugby while attack coach Steve Meehan is departing for French giants Toulon.

Defensive coach Peter Wilkins is also unlikely to retain his role with the last-placed Reds now having the worst defensive record in Super Rugby for leaking 39 tries in 11 games.

Graham and new high-performance consultant Connolly on Monday fronted the media shoulder-to-shoulder as a united front pledging a fighting finish to this failed season.

Quade Cooper (left) passes the ball at Queensland training on Monday.

Graham put a brave face on his tenuous position and the decision-making autonomy he will cede to Connolly, who will advise on team selections.

“I welcome the help. Our results have not been favourable in getting the team to win and I know John cares deeply about that as I do,” Graham said.

“I value his experience and I’ve no problems with working together. None.

“I’m a realist and know sport is about winning.

“At the same time I’m a fighter. Clearly, John, the organisation and myself want the best for the next five games.”

Wallaby great Tim Horan, who played much of his career under Connolly’s coaching in the 1990s, endorsed the Queensland Rugby Union’s call to bring him to the Reds.

“He’s one of the most astute rugby brains in the country and has kept himself current,” Horan said.

“The most important thing is that he’s in it for the right reasons...helping Richard Graham, making the most of the final five games, getting the Reds back on track and then John Connolly.”

Connolly is up for the job but the beaten Liberal National Party candidate for Nicklin at the 2012 state election didn’t say it would be easy.

“I dabbled in politics for a few years and this is a lot tougher than that,” Connolly said.