Rugby Australia statement: Two assistant coaches have quit
Rugby Australia have issued a statement confirming that new head coach Eddie Jones will not be working with assistants Dan McKellar and Petrus du Plessis with the Wallabies. McKellar has been snapped up as the new Leicester Tigers head coach while du Plessis has resigned from his scum coaching role.
A statement read: “Australia assistant coach Dan McKellar has resigned from his position effective immediately to take up a coaching position overseas. Predominantly responsible for the forwards, McKellar first started with the Wallabies in 2021 while still the head coach of the ACT Brumbies.
“He then joined the national programme on a full-time basis following the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season. Rugby Australia can also confirm that national scrum coach Petrus du Plessis has resigned from his role with the organisation.
“The Wallabies and Rugby Australia are working on finalising the coaching roster that will join Eddie Jones in the lead-up to this year’s Rugby World Cup, with announcements to be made in due course.”
Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos said: “We are disappointed that Dan will not continue with the Wallabies this year. However, I want to thank him for his service to Australian Rugby, especially with the Wallabies and at Super Rugby level and am sure he will return in the future having gained some more valuable experience as a coach.
“He has made a great impact since joining the Brumbies in 2014 and transitioned into his national assistant role well over the past two seasons, we wish him and his family all the best for the future. We also want to thank Petrus for his contribution to the Wallabies and wish him and his family all the best in their next chapter.
“Together with Eddie, we will continue to work hard to assemble a quality coaching staff to deliver a high-performing environment in our preparation for The Rugby Championship and Rugby World Cup later this year.”
McKellar added: “This was an extremely difficult decision to make but it’s one that’s made with my best professional and family interests in mind. I firmly believe my next challenge will make me a better coach and hopefully allow me to return home and contribute in a positive fashion to Australian Rugby in the future.
“I’d like to thank Andy, Eddie and Dave Rennie for their support and giving me the opportunity to be part of the Wallabies coaching staff over the past two years. I’d also like to thank the players and I wish them and Eddie all the best in what’s a massive year ahead.”
Du Plessis said: “I’d like to thank Rugby Australia for the opportunity to work with the Wallabies and the broader Australian system over the past two and a half years. After meeting with Eddie, I made the difficult decision to resign from the role and explore my business interests outside of Rugby. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family and I’d like to wish Eddie and the team all the best for the 2023 season.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments