Ewen McKenzie confirms Quade Cooper in frame to captain Wallabies following Ben Mowen's departure

EWEN McKenzie won't rule out naming Quade Cooper as a shock new Wallabies captain following Ben Mowen's departure.

EWEN McKenzie won't rule out naming Quade Cooper as a shock new Wallabies captain but says it won't simply be a matter of the deputy stepping up for a France-bound Ben Mowen in 2014.

The once-unthinkable possibility of Cooper leading the Wallabies emerged on Thursday after incumbent Test skipper Mowen announced he would quit Australian rugby at the end of this year to play in France's Top 14, forgoing a shot at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Saying he'd made the decision to spend more time with his young family, Mowen also accepted he may have already played his last Test match, with McKenzie likely to prefer World Cup candidates in the 14 Test matches slated for 2014.

The Wallabies coach said he may still call on Mowen this year but a new captain appears certain in June when the French arrive for a three-Test tour.

There are candidates aplenty, with potentially three ex-Test skippers in James Horwill, Will Genia and David Pocock sure to be in the mix.

Cooper's left-field claim - less than two years after labelling the Wallabies environment "toxic" - comes courtesy of his current role as vice-captain; an appointment made by McKenzie on the Spring Tour last year.

News_Image_File: Quade Cooper is a candidate to captain the Wallabies, along with Will Genia.

The coach said Cooper's name would be among a long list of candidates to replace Mowen - a job that will likely remain through to the World Cup - but played down the notion vice-captaincy made him next in line.

"It's not automatic that people step up or anything. It depends on what the options are at the time. We will pick a team and work it out from there. That doesn't rule Quade in or out, it doesn't rule anyone in or out," McKenzie said.

"There are guys out there who I think have good potential and have good qualities and we haven't seen them yet either.

"On that (Spring) tour we had 11 guys who were either captain or vice-captain of their province, and had experience. So there are a lot of guys who have credentials.

"But I am not going to get bogged down about it, and players shouldn't either. It's six months away. They should concentrate on playing well for their province."

News_Rich_Media: Wycliff Palu, a man in contention for Ben Mowen's soon to be vacated Wallabies back row place, is shocked at the national skipper's decision to walk away from Australian rugby.

McKenzie said Horwill and Genia would still be strongly considered despite both being replaced as Test captain in 2013.

"In my mind, ultimately you have to pick a team first. The team has to be based on performance and then you go from there," he said.

"We still have to prioritise performance. We can't, on the back of our win-loss record in 2013, sit back and say we are happy with where we are from a performance point of view."

A left-field candidate being strongly considered to replace Mowen is Michael Hooper, who replaced Pocock with such an impact in the past two seasons he has not only made himself impossible to drop, but impressed a number of senior Wallabies with his leadership potential.

Stephen Moore and Scott Higginbotham also have admirers for their leadership skills.

Mowen's stint as captain will go down as a successful one, overall.

Though well-liked around Australian rugby, sources say Mowen's leadership style had a hard-edge and caused friction at times. But McKenzie flatly denied reports late last year that Mowen survived a mutiny after the England Test, where senior players allegedly approached McKenzie requesting change.

News_Image_File: Ben Mowen will leave Australia for France at the end of the year.

"It never happened. I was disappointed with that. It was erroneous," McKenzie said.

"There was no delegation. No-one came to me at all."

Mowen's decision staves off some tough calls for McKenzie in 2014.

In reality, the Brumbies No. 8 faced a tough battle to keep his Test spot in 2014. With Wycliff Palu, Higginbotham and Pocock all returning from injury, and Brumbies teammate Scott Fardy a standout in his debut season in 2013, back-row spots are set to be hotly contested.

McKenzie said he had not had a discussion with Mowen about a pecking order in their chats about the future.

"He is a smart guy, he can read the landscape as well as anyone else but he also backs himself and his own style," McKenzie said.

"There is no point in theorising and speculating because you don't know what's going to happen with injury, form, who ever knows?

"It's disappointing Ben is leaving but these things happen. They happen all the time and at the same time, new faces emerge."