Why coaching the Wallabies is the toughest gig in Australian sport
Unless he can find a formula that’s eluded many of world rugby’s best coaches, the next Wallabies mentor will be on a hiding to nothing, just like Michael Cheika was.
And like Ewen McKenzie was before Cheika, and Robbie Deans before McKenzie.
Coaching the Wallabies is the toughest gig in Australian sport because the Wallabies, rather unfairly, are the most harshly-marked national sporting team in the country.
Even when they’re ranked second in the world, which for much of the past 15 years they have been, the Wallabies are on the nose.
Unless they’re regularly beating the mighty All Blacks, which no team has managed since Australia’s glory days under Rod Macqueen at the turn of the century, the Wallabies are critiqued like no other.
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The Kangaroos can lose four rugby league tests in a row to New Zealand and still be considered the world’s best.
The Diamonds can lose heartbreaker after heartbreaker to the Silver Ferns and are still deemed to be a cut above netball’s best.
Only Sandpaper-gate could knock Australia’s cricketers off their pedestal.
The Socceroos? Well, they can win an Asian Cup and be ranked 41st in the world, as they are now, and still be idolised.
But only World Cup glory or the return of the Bledisloe Cup is good enough for Wallabies fans.
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Yes it’s time for Cheika to go after his turbulent five-year reign ended in humiliation with the clueless Wallabies now ranked seventh in the world, behind even Japan.
Yes, the next coach will surely improve the Wallabies because they can hardly get any worse.
But unless they’re beating the All Blacks and winning rugby’s major trophies, the Wallabies’s next coach will depart the job viewed as a failure just like one-time world coach of the year Cheika, McKenzie, Deans, John Connolly and Eddie Jones were.
Jones has worked wonders with England and Japan and even helped Jake White win the 2007 World Cup with South Africa.
He took Australia to a World Cup final extra time in 2003, but could never fill the golden boots of Macqueen.
‘Let the good times roll’ was the headline when Connolly was ushered in after Jones.
Instead his head was rolled after just two years, about the length of Deans’s honeymoon period.
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Australian rugby’s first foreign coach enjoyed the longest tenure – and most successful since Macqueen – in Wallabies coaching history.
Yet Deans was savagely shown the door midway through a series against the touring British and Irish Lions, with the showdown locked at one test apiece.
McKenzie, like Deans before him and Cheika after him, was also welcomed as Australian rugby’s saviour before his premature reign ended in despair.
Dave Rennie, the frontrunner to replace Cheika, is similarly already being feted as the man to revive the Wallabies’ fortunes.
But the Kiwi, or whoever takes the job, will be asked the very same question at his opening press conference as Wallabies coach.
“What makes you think your reign will end up any different to the last few Wallabies coaches?”
The answer won’t matter.
Only results – read beating New Zealand consistently – matter for the Wallabies.
AAP
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Comments on RugbyPass
I think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to comments