Wallabies coach candidate gains momentum as Nucifora returns
Respected Kiwi Joe Schmidt is firming as a frontrunner after Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh revealed March as the deadline for naming a new Wallabies coach.
Waugh said RA would ramp up the chase for a successor to Eddie Jones following Friday’s confirmation that journeyman Peter Horne had been appointed as director of high performance.
Former Brumbies coach David Nucifora will also return to the governing body in an advisory role and likely have a say in the Wallabies position despite remaining on as Ireland’s high-performance director until after the Paris Olympics.
“We’ll be in market next week with expressions of interest and ideally we want to be having an appointment in certainly Q-1 (quarter one) in ’24 given that the Welsh are here in July,” Waugh said.
“So it is a bit of a sprint. We understand that time is against us, but equally it’s really important process to get right.
“This is a journey and this is the start of that journey and a really exciting path ahead for the game here in Australia and we need to be very disciplined and go through the right process to get the best possible people into the organisation.”
Former Wallabies assistants Stephen Larkham and Dan McKellar along with Michael Cheika, who guided Australia to the 2015 World Cup final and became available this week after quitting as Argentina coach, had been considered the leading candidates.
But it’s understood RA has been strongly pursuing Schmidt, who took Ireland to the top of the international rankings before answering an SOS call from New Zealand and helping mastermind the All Blacks‘ run to the final in this year’s World Cup in France.
Schmidt has reportedly been reluctant to join the Wallabies ranks after years of decline culminated in Australia missing the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
But so, too, apparently was Nucifora before RA lured him home.
With Nucifora, Schmidt and Horne all tight from working so successfully together in the northern hemisphere, RA will now be hoping to secure the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle to take the Wallabies towards the 2025 home series against the British and Irish Lions and the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
It certainly sounded that way when Waugh was asked on Friday if the next Wallabies coach would be signed on for four years.
“It would be dependent on the applicants (being) open to what’s going to drive immediate success, but equally how to drive sustained success,” he said.
“We’ve historically got into this rhythm of it’s all about a World Cup. You end up in a World Cup cycle and you’ve seen through the success of Ireland being a really good example.
“They’ve never got through past the quarter-finals at a World Cup but they’ve been winning consistently at provincial level and at Test-match level and therefore it drives engagement with spectators and fans and the community.
“So I’m really interested in creating winning Wallabies and winning Wallaroos. The sevens team are on the right path both across the men’s and the women’s.
“But what’s really important is winning consistently and not just having a sugar hit of a really successful World Cup and then dipping afterwards.”
Tellingly, Waugh also said the next Wallabies coach didn’t need to be Australian.
“We need the best possible coach to lead the system and the culture,” he said.
“What I will say is that our competitive advantage in sport is being Australian and so that Australian way and that Australian culture needs to be driven through the team.
“But that can be driven through a coach not from Australia.”
While he will work with Waugh on landing a Wallabies coach, Horne will officially join RA in March after almost 14 years working in high performance for World Rugby following roles with UK club Saracens, Samoan rugby and Equestrian Australia.
Horne will be responsible for pulling together RA’s historic centralisation of Super Rugby high-performance systems, the men’s and women’s national senior programs and youth pathways.
Nucifora, who quit Australian rugby’s high-performance program in 2013 after failing to push through reform, will return in August.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
2 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
2 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
10 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
10 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
10 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to comments