'A reckless move': Why Aus & NZ would be 'crazy' to axe their coaches
New Zealand rugby great Murray Mexted believes the Wallabies and All Blacks would be “crazy” to fire their respective coaches less than a year out from the World Cup.
International rugby has never been this competitive, but the expectation to win remains the same – and two top coaches have ultimately paid the price for some poor form.
Two traditional juggernauts of international rugby have made the bold decision to fire their head coach this week, just nine months out from the biggest event in the sport.
The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed that Warren Gatland would return to Wales to replace Wayne Pivac, while Eddie Jones was recently axed from his position with England.
Wales appeared especially desperate for change following a dire 2022 campaign which began with a fifth-place finish in the Six Nations.
While wins proved hard to come by for the remainder of the year, Pivac’s fate was seemingly sealed following a first ever loss to Georgia and a disastrous collapse against Australia.
Meanwhile, England only won one of their four matches during their November internationals, which was a convincing win over Japan.
But Eddie Jones’ hot seat reached boiling point following a convincing loss at home against South Africa, and news broke of his dismissal a matter of hours ago.
Speaking on SENZ, former All Blacks backrower Mexted said it would be “reckless” for New Zealand or Australia to make a similar decision.
“I’m surprised that Wales have sacked Pivac with one year to go, I think it’s a lot to do with the new coach. Gatland would be the only one qualified to take that role because he’s so close to it,” Mexted said on SENZ.
“But with Dave Rennie, they’d be crazy if they changed Dave Rennie… and it’s got to that stage with Ian Foster now too.
“To destabilise the World Cup campaign half a dozen matches out from the World cup, because there are a few not so big matches, would be a bad move, and it would be a reckless move, and I don’t think the New Zealand Rugby Union are going to do that.
“What we want to see to have our best opportunity is to have the players they aren’t quite sure about playing in Super Rugby competition, and then for them to pick their Test squad… for The Rugby Championship and stick with those guys.”
All Blacks Ian Foster came under fire following New Zealand’s historic series loss at home to Ireland – a team who had never won one Test in Aotearoa against the men in black before this year.
New Zealand went on to lose a Test match in South Africa, and another historic loss at home at Argentina, before they got their World Cup campaign back on track.
While Foster was publicly backed by the New Zealand Rugby Union, the assistant coaching group of Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan has clearly worked wonders for the All Blacks.
The All Blacks finished their season on a seven Test unbeaten run – which included a dramatic draw with England at Twickenham – so Foster will almost certainly be safe until at least the World Cup.
As for Australia, they didn’t have the year that they deserved. They just didn’t.
The Wallabies fought valiantly in every Test match they played, but they just couldn’t hold on for the full 80 minutes.
Australia started their season with a two-point win over traditional rivals England in Perth, before losing six of their next eight Test matches.
While they kick started their spring tour with a thrilling win over Scotland, poor discipline cost them in tight matches as they lost their next three by three points or less.
But the true blue spirit of this Australian team was on display during their final Test of the year, as they completed an incredible comeback against Wales.
However, the performances of yesteryear tend to be somewhat forgotten as the world gathers once every four years to determine and for all who’s the best.
This is really all that matters in international rugby – and both players and coaches need time to prove themselves.
“At the end of the day the Rugby World Cup is the most significant event in the rugby calendar,” Mexted added.
“The problem is… the Rugby World Cup is only every four years but you’d have to say though that most successful periods of tenures are those that are consistent over a period of about four years or more.
“If you look back in history and look back at the time that a head coach ran the show with success, they often had four, five, six years at the helm.
“Chopping and changing, I don’t think is good. We’ve had a marvelous record over 100 years of about 79 per cent… that’s magnificent but you get that when you get a little bit of continuity.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments