Rea schedules his departure while Brumbies meet new coach at Cape Town hotel
Chris Dutton
April 27, 2011
CAPE TOWN: ACT Brumbies mentor Tony Rea will leave Canberra at the end of the Super Rugby season to chase another head coaching opportunity, and the franchise will announce today that he will be replaced by South African Jake White for the next four years.
White guided South Africa to a World Cup victory in 2007 and is keen to resurrect the Brumbies as Australia's premier Super Rugby club.
Rea admitted it was disappointing he had been overlooked to be a permanent head coach after taking over from Andy Friend in February.
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Speaking from Cape Town, Rea confirmed White's appointment would result in his leaving the capital in the coming months. He will still be in charge of the Brumbies for the final nine weeks of the season.
He insisted he was not bitter and would not duck making any hard calls in his final two months. ''I am disappointed, but I am fine with the decision. It doesn't affect my confidence,'' Rea said. ''I believe strongly in what I'm doing and how I'm going and as long as I feel like that, I'm cool with the decision.
''I'm not going to make any soft decisions for this group. I'm not going to change my behaviour at all. The players know that. Everything else that will happen next year is irrelevant for now.''
The Brumbies will leave Cape Town today to finalise preparations for their clash with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. Their stopover in Cape Town allowed White to meet most of the playing group at the team's hotel yesterday.
He is also likely to travel to Bloemfontein and Durban to watch the Brumbies' two games in South Africa.
White's coaching credentials made him too hard to ignore for the Brumbies board and selection panel. He guided the South African under-21s side to a junior World Cup triumph in 2002 before taking over the Springboks two years later.
He helped them win the Tri Nations in 2004 before succeeding at the 2007 World Cup. Rea took over the Brumbies' top job when Friend was sacked after just two games this season.
In his six Super Rugby matches in charge, the team has only been able to record one victory. When asked if his five losses made it hard for the selection panel to choose him over White, Rea said: ''You'd have to ask them that. You would think people would be stronger than that and have their eyes open to see the group is moving forward.
''We don't have results, but it has 100 per cent made me more confident … I'm comfortable with what we're doing.''
The Brumbies playing group was informed earlier this week of the decision to replace Rea with White next year.
Rea came to Canberra as Friend's specialist defensive coach to start the 2009 season. And having been a head coach in the English Super League and now Super Rugby, Rea said he would need to leave Canberra to pursue his ambition of taking charge of another professional team.
But he doesn't want to say goodbye to Canberra on a sour note. He is determined to turn the Brumbies' season around before leaving and is confident the team can start with a victory against the Cheetahs.
''We haven't had the results this season, but having this time has confirmed to myself that I'm sweet in the coaching role and with the jobs that come with it,'' Rea said.
''There's a lot to play for - I'm not the only one leaving. There are a fair few blokes [like Matt Giteau, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Mitchell Chapman] leaving so it's our last little campaign together. Because of the year we've had, I really admire how strong the guys have been.''
