Dan McKellar and Stephen Larkham head the contenders but patience is needed if hearts and minds are to be won back
Photograph: Thibault Camus/APPhotograph: Thibault Camus/APEddie JonesJones has left the Wallabies coachless, abandoning his post after just 10 months to duck the fallout in November of what is sure to be a scathing review into the 2023 World Cup fiasco. It leavesto find a coach willing and able to sift through the rubble and build a squad capable of restoring pride in the gold jersey at the 2027 World Cup on home soil.
And Jones has made Rugby Australia look clueless. By rushing to give him the reins to the men’s and women’s program only to have him decimate the former and ignore the latter, RA have delivered disaster to player morale, disillusionment to long-suffering fans and greatly devalued rugby’s brand for all current and future sponsors and broadcasters.Doubly so if media reports are proven correct that he was interviewing for the Japan job even before Australia’s World Cup campaign got underway.
McKellar cannily smelled bedlam on the breeze when Jones was appointed in January. The former Wallabies forwards coach and senior assistant to Dave Rennie for two years is now three months into a three-year deal with top English Premiership side Leicester Tigers but it’s believed his contract has an exit clause if RA offers him the job as Wallabies head coach.The next leading contender is Stephen Larkham, 49, the 102-Test former Wallaby fly-half.
As a player, Larkham was an anomaly – skinny and shy yet determined to run. He embodied the “Wallaby Way” of attacking rugby which RA believes can resurrect the game: a brave and brilliant tactician who ghosted Australia to an era of dominance with sublime skills and calm. These qualities, and the patience and belief they sow, are what Australia desperately needs.
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