No hidden agenda in McKellar’s Brumbies extension

The man most likely to succeed Dave Rennie says nothing should be read into his contract extension at the Brumbies.

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar has extended his contract with the Super Rugby franchise

He remains the man most likely to be the next Wallabies coach but Dan McKellar was adamant there was nothing to be read into him extending his contract with the Brumbies through to the end of 2022.

The current coach of the Australian side, Dave Rennie, has said repeatedly he does not envisage staying on in the job beyond the next Rugby World Cup in 2023, so the fact that McKellar has contrived to make himself a free agent that year could well be seen in some quarters as significant.

Watch every game of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship LIVE & exclusive on beIN SPORTS with Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly

Not for McKellar, it’s not. He reluctantly turned down an assistant coaching job under Rennie last year after the Brumbies attack coach, Peter Hewat, was headhunted for a job in Japan. McKellar felt he could not desert the Canberra side while its coaching staff was in flux but that has now been rectified with the appointment of Queenslander Rod Seib as attack coach. He and forwards coach Laurie Fisher have also been engaged for the next two seasons.

There will inevitably be speculation that McKellar could move into the Wallabies set-up in 2023 in an assistant’s role to gain experience under Rennie before taking over the reins in 2024. But, as he pointed out on Wednesday, he is actually hoping an opportunity will arise this year to assist with the Wallabies.

“If they wanted me to help, I would certainly be available,” McKellar told The Australian on Wednesday. “Look, there is a whole lot of water to go under the bridge before then. I have made no secret that coaching at Test level is something I would love to do but life is also a matter of timing.”

Although McKellar has compiled a compelling record with the Brumbies over his past three years as head coach, it would only take for one of his Super Rugby AU rivals to take the title this season for the Wallabies position to become clouded.

The Queensland Reds, under Brad Thorn, have been the coming side in Australian rugby for the past few years and while they fell just short in last year’s competition, they will field a near-Test strength XV in 2021.

Dave Wessels is making a small target of himself this year but if he can get the Melbourne Rebels firing, he too could come back strongly into the Wallabies reckoning. Waratahs coach Rob Penney probably won’t be considered because of the drive to have an Australian as coach of the national side, while the Force’s Tim Sampson still needs more experience but has shown himself to be very much a coach on the rise.

And as his side demonstrated with a 28-29 hard-fought loss to the Brumbies in Canberra on Tuesday, he now has genuine depth at his disposal.

It will be the Brumbies turn to travel west for the opening match of the season against the Force in Perth on Friday week and while pre-season trial form may be an unreliable pointer, McKellar is bracing himself for a formidable return clash.

“They’ll be extremely difficult, especially if reports that they are expecting a crowd of 20,000 turn out to be true,” he said.

It has been a long wait for Force supporters since they hosted their last Super Rugby match in Perth, beating the Waratahs 40-11 in a 2017 match awash with emotion. With the help of owner Andrew Forrest, the Sea of Blue has maintained the rage over the last three and a half years and McKellar is well-advised in putting the Brumbies on a war footing.

Rugby Australia has clarified the Golden Try law variation after it became clear that a side in sudden-death extra-time at the end of a drawn match might kick two penalties goals but still be beaten by a team which scored an unconverted try right at the death. But RA has decided a try trumps everything, and ruled that penalty goals and field goals will not count in extra-time.