A Thorn in Rennie’s side? Hardly
This week’s explosive coaching developments took many by surprise. Is Dave Rennie going somewhere anytime soon?
No. At least,not unless the Wallabies bomb badly against England and deteriorate further in the Rugby Championship.
Everyone who matters – including fans – seem happy with where Rennie is taking the team. He will coach through until next year’s World Cup and beyond if the Wallabies go deep.
But the succession planning has been under way for some time and take it as read Dan McKellar is considered the logical option to succeed Rennie.
Queensland coach Brad Thorn’s declaration of his candidacy felt out of the blue,but it wasn’t. He is off contract at the end of next year,which means the Reds will be talking to him now about his future. Until recently,even the QRU top brass were unsure which country,and which code,Thorn considered his natural,long-term home.
When he told them he could see himself coaching the Wallabies next,not the All Blacks or the Broncos,it was a pivotal moment for both parties. Saying it out loud was the logical next step and Rugby Australia would do well to welcome his interest as a positive – if spicy – turn of events,not a threat to their master plan.
Battle of the sexes and sevens
Australian women’s sevens team coach Tim Walsh was known for his quirky methods before taking the team to an Olympic gold medal in 2016. He once failed to turn up to a game,would steal unattended boots and had star Charlotte Caslick fake an injury while warming up for a friendly against Japan,a month out from the Games. Caslick was so convincing some teammates were holding back tears.
Walsh,who switched to the men’s team but is now back coaching the women,rolled back the clock on Thursday by having his team do a semi-opposed session against the Churchie school 1st XV at Easts Rugby Club in Brisbane. Walsh was keen to have his team tested against fast,light-footed players and students fitted the bill. Up against professional athletes,however,onlookers said the boys were ‘run ragged’ by the end of the 90-minute session.
The radical shake-up of the Australian sevens programs after the disappointment of the Tokyo Olympic has been paying dividends,with the men’s and women’s teams both showing great form in the early tournaments.
Eddie’s next move
Phil Kearns hit the nail on the head when he said it could be time to bring home Eddie Jones.
After consecutive poor Six Nations campaigns and yet more scrutiny of his harsh leadership style,the acerbic Australian coach is on the nose in a big way in England and will almost certainly be farewelled after next year’s tournament.
He has been plotting his next move for some time,but Kearns believes it could be time for his old Randwick teammate to head back down under.
“Eddie is a really good bloke and an amazing coach. I think Eddie would be fabulous in dealing with the rugby youth of our nation,the up-and-coming players,” Kearns said.
“I think he builds resilience in players. He’s not easy with them and I think we all know that. He’s tough.
“He demands excellence and that can only be good for players on the way through. I think it would be awesome if Eddie had a role in the future of Australian rugby.”
For many years the mention of Jones’s name among some administrators and former players would elicit a negative reaction,but Kearns believes the 62-year-old has moved with the times.
“I think even Eddie has acknowledged publicly there were times that he could have done things a little bit differently,” he said.
“When you’re 60 you’re a better man-manager than when you were 50 and when you’re 50 you’re better than you were when you were 40. We’ve made the mistake in Australian rugby of appointing coaches that really haven’t been ready for that job,when it’s about man management really.
“I think those[broken] bridges should well and truly be rebuilt and pave the way for Eddie to come back in some role.“
Bring on the old enemy
England’s three-Test tour is shaping up as a pivotal gauge on rugby’s cut-through in the Australian landscape and,if the early indications are anything to go by,the July series will be a hit with fans.
In Brisbane,where the Wallabies will play their second Test against the Poms at Suncorp Stadium,a reciprocal ticket offering to Gabba members was swamped with interest.
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With each member permitted to buy up to four tickets,the Gabba’s back-office team had to resort to a random draw,telling members “the ticket offering was well and truly over-subscribed,generating hundreds of applications”.
Tickets to the three Tests – in Perth,Brisbane and Sydney – go on sale on April 28. We hear the Rugby Australia marketing pigeons are cooking up some fun merchandise in the form of Bobby helmets in a deep and true shade of Wallaby gold.
Crosby,thrills and dash
Phil Kearns joined Lote Tuqiri and former Wallaroo Annette Finch at Brothers Rugby club on Wednesday to mark one month to go until the World Rugby meeting at which Australiashould be awarded hosting rights to the 2027 World Cup.
The usually clear-eyed former Test hooker-turned-bid boss looked wistful wandering onto Crosby Park and with good reason. The last time he was there was in 1988,when he was Randwick’s second-choice hooker behind Eddie Jones and the Galloping Greens romped it home 27-9 at the 1988 Australian Club Championship.
Though Kearnsy didn’t make it off the bench,he remembered the line-up,and what a line-up it was. Among many heroes,local and international,here are the highlights:Eddie Jones (called Ed Jones back in the day) and Ewen McKenzie in the front row,Simon Poidevin and Michael Cheika in the back row,Lloyd Walker at five-eighth,Gary Ella at outside centre and David Campese and Acura Niuqila on the wings.
“With a few exceptions,that team was the one that played the All Blacks a few months later,” Kearns said.
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