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Rugby Australia set sights on new coach as Eddie Jones walks
By AAP
Eddie Jones has left Rugby Australia scrambling for a new national coach after sensationally walking out on the Wallabies 10 months into his five-year deal.
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Less than a fortnight after claiming he was “100 per cent” committed to steering his youthful new-look Wallabies through to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, Jones on Sunday night conceded to AAP he was “not far away” from quitting.
The 63-year-old met with RA bosses on the weekend and amicably agreed to his departure following the Wallabies’ shambolic World Cup campaign in France.
Australia failed to make the quarter-finals of the global showpiece for the first time after Jones opted for a late change of tack and dropped veteran playmaker Quade Cooper and long-time captain Michael Hooper in favour of a roll-of-the-dice youth movement.
The gamble failed spectacularly.
The Wallabies lost to Fiji for the first time in 59 years, then suffered a record 40-6 loss to Wales to miss progressing from the group stages for the first time in 10 editions of the World Cup.
Now the fall-out continues.
RA have been left to pick up the pieces of Jones’ ill-fated second stint in charge, which amounted to two unconvincing wins – over minnows Georgia and Portugal – and seven losses from nine Tests in 2023.
Taking in his previous tenure, Jones has guided the Wallabies to 15 losses in his last 18 Tests as Wallabies coach.
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Now RA, after controversially appointing him in the first place to succeed the sacked Dave Rennie, must find a replacement.
World Cup-winning legend Stephen Larkham and fellow former Wallabies assistant Dan McKellar are expected to be RA’s Australia’s top targets.
RA boss Hamish McLennan used a virtual captain’s pick to sign Jones and axe steady Kiwi coach Dave Rennie, but the next appointment is certain to be made under a more rigorous process.
McKellar, Australia’s former forwards coach, was publicly hailed as the man-in-waiting under Rennie and quit his Brumbies job to concentrate on the Wallabies.
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But he walked soon after the polarising Jones took over.
The 47-year-old is currently the head coach at Leicester Tigers in the UK and while he long coveted the top Australian job, it may not hold the same golden lure it once did.
With a preference for an Australian coach, RA may turn to current ACT Brumbies boss Larkham.
Larkham was the attack coach under then-Wallabies mentor Michael Cheika at the 2015 World Cup until an acrimonious split in 2019, when he was blamed for Australia’s run of poor results.
The champion five-eighth then spent three years coaching Irish provincial side Munster before returning to the Brumbies for the 2023 Super season.
Cheika has also been linked to a second stint with the Wallabies after coaching Argentina to this year’s World Cup semi-finals and Australia to the 2015 decider.
Following the Pumas’ 26-23 third-place playoff loss to England, Cheika said he had “no idea” if he would continue as Argentina coach.
“I haven’t even thought about it. I’ll go to Argentina later in the year and we will have a talk about how things went and what the future holds,” he said.
A left-field option for RA would be to gamble on NSW coach Darren Coleman, who helped turn the Waratahs from wooden spooners to Super Rugby Pacific quarter-finalists in his two years in the post.
What a joke all round - RA drop Rennie like a hot spud to hire Jones after he failed to fire with the English. Your word is your worth, so Mr Jones ain’t worth much.
I do wonder what might have been if short sighted RA had been loyal to Rennie.
RA members need to go look in a mirror and ask themselves how they could have been so stupid.
Have to add they are not alone in the stupid stakes, we have also NZR and WR!!
Please get Ian Foster and make the Bledisloe Interesting Again.
Any chance McKellar had enough leverage to for a release clause on Leicester?
Jones now another coach, after Gatland, showing the telltale signs rugby players show of losing touch with how good you need to be to make it in rugby down south.
They should definitely get Matt Williams. He showed what he can do when he coached Scotland and, with his recent insights into the composition of the bench, I think Australia can show the world the effectiveness of a 3/5 bench.
But the biggest win for the rugby fraternity is that people will stop referring to him as a rugby pundit.
Get Andy Friend
Here’s where Rennie had the Wallabies after the 2022 NH tour, a solid foundation, ready to build towards RWC2023:
France- lost by 1pt
Italy- lost by 1pt
Wales won
Scotland won
Ireland - lost by 3pts
All in front of full stadia of hostile home crowds. The loss to Italy, where he made 12 changes is acceptable given the bigger picture. These results look phenomenal when compared to the Eddie Jones Version 2 era.
Anyone with half a brain knows the Wallabies needed rebuilding, not a steroid shot or two. By sacking Rennie they cut themselves off at the knees. They should get on their knees & lure him back in. At the same time continue to fix the systemic issues that have plagued their organisation for the past 20 years. These are two separate projects, one micro, one macro.
As a neutral I would go for Dan Mckellar. Did a good job for the Brumbies
Opportunity to rebuild foundations, but you can only do that if you start with great leadership.
Be surprised if anyone is interested while McLennan is still involved. Bombastic, untrustworthy and lacking in judgement - not the attributes needed for the Wallabies to regain respect.
Plus, McLennan has pledged maintaining our 5 Super teams - the genesis of many of today’s problems was expanding from 3 teams.