Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
I can't believe the ARU would consider the best candidates either......... what were they thinking?!
Jake White Quits Brumbies
- Thread starter Brumby Jack
- Start date
- Status
I can't believe the ARU would consider the best candidates either......... what were they thinking?!
USARugger
John Thornett (49)
Zander
Wallabies job has much more time spent in the 'off' season than the Super Rugby coaching jobs do with the current schedule. So in all likeliness it would actually facilitate him spending more time with his family much better than the Brumbies job does.
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One door closes, and another opens. It was long been espoused on here that a major factor in the consistent success of the All Blacks over the past decades has been the seamlessness with which they can bring young guys through the ranks.
This is generally boiled down to the fact that while there are nuanced differences (Crusaders emphasis on counter attack/the breakdown, Highlanders emphasis on offloading and creating broken play, etc) in the way the NZ franchises play, but they are all more or less singing from the same song sheet.
Logically, having a system like this in place would ease the transition from ITM -> Super Rugby -> Test Rugby (blooding most of the players at a slightly older age after a bit of exposure to ITM Cup and then Super Rugby is also a factor here).
This was absolutely unattainable with Jake White as the head coach of the ACT Brumbies. I firmly don't believe that Jake would have altered the territorial, kick-and-chase game plan which the Brumbies had been executing all season long at the behest of the ARU.
But with Jake out of the picture now would be the time for the ARU to set a plan like this into motion, starting with the Super Rugby clubs (ARU can simply exert more direct influence here than they can on the clubs as there are far fewer Super Rugby clubs than '3rd-tier' clubs and these are the players going directly into the Wallabies at the moment..it's not perfect but you have to start somewhere).
Ewen seems to have, ultimately, a clear strategy in mind and some sort of structure he is working to implement right now. Although we may not see this on the field until the Autumn Tests I would like to believe the mental construction is already well in place.
If that is the case then maybe it is time to start trying to 'unify' ourselves to some sort 'Australian' way of playing rugby. Although what composes 'Australian' rugby is a philosophical question for the ages and absolutely one that sparks torrid debate, perhaps now is the time to confront it and settle this for the time being (can't be one-and-for-all because the laws will inevitably change as they have historically). There does seem to be quite the gap between the popular media interpretation of what 'Australian' rugby is and what 'Australian' rugby has been historically.
The lame duck of the bunch right now would have to be the Western Force, but I think with a former Wallaby as head coach and some of the young talent they have in the backs that they could be encouraged to shift away from their current game plan.
I see the Waratahs as the other extreme of the 5 franchises, potentially representing the most 'Australian' of the playing styles. It is imperative to remember here that NZ has shown us that our franchises can still have their own nuanced styles while remaining loyal to a common set of principles.
The Reds and Rebels both fit somewhere in between, with the Reds currently leaning towards the more attritional side and the Rebels in the opposite direction.
Maybe now is the time to figure out what the fuck we mean when we say we want to play 'Australian' rugby?
Wallabies job has much more time spent in the 'off' season than the Super Rugby coaching jobs do with the current schedule. So in all likeliness it would actually facilitate him spending more time with his family much better than the Brumbies job does.
------------------------------------------------------------
One door closes, and another opens. It was long been espoused on here that a major factor in the consistent success of the All Blacks over the past decades has been the seamlessness with which they can bring young guys through the ranks.
This is generally boiled down to the fact that while there are nuanced differences (Crusaders emphasis on counter attack/the breakdown, Highlanders emphasis on offloading and creating broken play, etc) in the way the NZ franchises play, but they are all more or less singing from the same song sheet.
Logically, having a system like this in place would ease the transition from ITM -> Super Rugby -> Test Rugby (blooding most of the players at a slightly older age after a bit of exposure to ITM Cup and then Super Rugby is also a factor here).
This was absolutely unattainable with Jake White as the head coach of the ACT Brumbies. I firmly don't believe that Jake would have altered the territorial, kick-and-chase game plan which the Brumbies had been executing all season long at the behest of the ARU.
But with Jake out of the picture now would be the time for the ARU to set a plan like this into motion, starting with the Super Rugby clubs (ARU can simply exert more direct influence here than they can on the clubs as there are far fewer Super Rugby clubs than '3rd-tier' clubs and these are the players going directly into the Wallabies at the moment..it's not perfect but you have to start somewhere).
Ewen seems to have, ultimately, a clear strategy in mind and some sort of structure he is working to implement right now. Although we may not see this on the field until the Autumn Tests I would like to believe the mental construction is already well in place.
If that is the case then maybe it is time to start trying to 'unify' ourselves to some sort 'Australian' way of playing rugby. Although what composes 'Australian' rugby is a philosophical question for the ages and absolutely one that sparks torrid debate, perhaps now is the time to confront it and settle this for the time being (can't be one-and-for-all because the laws will inevitably change as they have historically). There does seem to be quite the gap between the popular media interpretation of what 'Australian' rugby is and what 'Australian' rugby has been historically.
The lame duck of the bunch right now would have to be the Western Force, but I think with a former Wallaby as head coach and some of the young talent they have in the backs that they could be encouraged to shift away from their current game plan.
I see the Waratahs as the other extreme of the 5 franchises, potentially representing the most 'Australian' of the playing styles. It is imperative to remember here that NZ has shown us that our franchises can still have their own nuanced styles while remaining loyal to a common set of principles.
The Reds and Rebels both fit somewhere in between, with the Reds currently leaning towards the more attritional side and the Rebels in the opposite direction.
Maybe now is the time to figure out what the fuck we mean when we say we want to play 'Australian' rugby?
Up to four pages already, all packed with hypothetical suppositions. How 'bout we wait until something concrete comes out or Jake makes a statement before we put the boot in. He's taken this action after a visit to SAf, maybe something's seriously amiss with his family and he's (understandably) reluctant to air his personal circumstances in public.
I suggest we all take a long, deep breath here, and wait.....
I suggest we all take a long, deep breath here, and wait.....
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
It appears that the ARU communicated to him that the Wallaby gig was his and then they changed their minds at the last minute........
Deans given the boot when he was and Link's availability might've also factored in, but obviously the whole Aussie PR factor was far too great.......
Jake now seems to believe the pathway for him to coach test rugby no longer exists in this country, and if that's the case due to his nationality rather than his abilities as a coach then so be it.........
Brisbok
Cyril Towers (30)
You don't believe it's possible that that may be A factor? Agreed, it is very unlikely to be the main factor in his decision and I'm sure we will find out what that is in due course. But I don't think anyone could say that it's definitely not a factor. I don't believe that is trolling.
However, purely speculating, a potential career path of his has now been blocked for the next few years at least. There's nothing to suggest that this will open up again in 2015 - if Link can turn things around in the next couple of years, is he really only going to want (or be given) 2 years in the top job? If he can't turn things around, is Jake's nationality going to then be forgotten allowing him to be judged on rugby factors only in competition with the likes of Cheika and any other successful Australian coaches that may emerge?
If what has been reported is true, Jake is unlikely to trust any possible assurances he has been given from the ARU that he is next in line.
Yes, he is walking away from a huge contract, but with his coaching pedigree, do you not think that his next big offer is just around the corner?
This is obviously all speculation and I will wait eagerly with everyone else to hear Jake's comments/reasons for walking away from the Brumbies.
RoffsChoice
Jim Lenehan (48)
Seriously believe it's home sickness, given how often he's over in RSA. As stated earlier the Wallabies job would have given him more time to be there as well.
Hugh Jarse
Rocky Elsom (76)
I guess chocking isn't reserved for your World Cup rugby players. Now if only Joubert was the sailing umpire for the Americas Cup ...
Greg Norman will be happy.
He drops one position down on that leaderboard.
I'm enjoying the latest round of xenophobia from people being glad he wasn't made Wallabies coach because he isn't Australian.
I feel it really adds a bit of class to this whole debate.
I feel it really adds a bit of class to this whole debate.
Yeah, hopefully Fisher and Larkham are named co-coaches.
Big opportunity for those two to step up
Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
It will be one of those two, not both.
louie
Desmond Connor (43)
Braveheart is 100% on the money. The Australia coach doesn't need to be Australian. They just need to be the best.
Does everyone need to be Australian? Can their be a non Australian person selling the merch? Heating up pies? Why stop their maybe only Australians should have permission to play rugby.
Does everyone need to be Australian? Can their be a non Australian person selling the merch? Heating up pies? Why stop their maybe only Australians should have permission to play rugby.
Bowside
Peter Johnson (47)
Lets assume he's leaving because he's homesick.
Do you really want the national coach to be a bloke (regardless of where he was born) who doesn't see the country he is representing as his home?
What motivates him if not pride in country? Do you think graham henry did it for the paycheck?
RedsHappy
Tony Shaw (54)
The hard facts of the matter are that in recent years only two men in the whole of Australian rugby have demonstrated anything like the leadership competence and tenacity required to revive the spirit of fans and sponsors in important territories for Australian rugby - Link and White. One of those gained a title as well as dramatically reviving the Reds' commercial fortunes, the other made a huge contribution to totally transforming a Brumbies organisation that appeared bent on a form of institutionalised suicide. Both achieved these critical-to-code gains within only two years despite the alleged 'lack of depth in Australian rugby'.
The rest of the terrain outside these two standouts has been filled with demonstrably poor levels of both managerial and coaching competence that have gradually taken the code downhill since 2003. Just look closely at the parlous state of the ARU and the commercial and crowd-level fragility of the Sydney and Brisbane club competitions. Our Sevens program is way below world-class and the Force and the Rebels are incurring unsustainable financial losses, etc.
The point being that we must not let White's departure do anything other than accelerate the recruitment, retention and development of top-flight coaches and business managers within our code, and thus ruthlessly dispense with the mediocrity and sentimental introversion that had blighted our most recent period.
White's recruitment and rapidly gained success demonstrates that the courage and tough calls designed to get the best competence into the code are 'the right stuff'. Lots more of it will be needed.
The rest of the terrain outside these two standouts has been filled with demonstrably poor levels of both managerial and coaching competence that have gradually taken the code downhill since 2003. Just look closely at the parlous state of the ARU and the commercial and crowd-level fragility of the Sydney and Brisbane club competitions. Our Sevens program is way below world-class and the Force and the Rebels are incurring unsustainable financial losses, etc.
The point being that we must not let White's departure do anything other than accelerate the recruitment, retention and development of top-flight coaches and business managers within our code, and thus ruthlessly dispense with the mediocrity and sentimental introversion that had blighted our most recent period.
White's recruitment and rapidly gained success demonstrates that the courage and tough calls designed to get the best competence into the code are 'the right stuff'. Lots more of it will be needed.
Brisbok
Cyril Towers (30)
For NZ or Argentina?
Edit - what motivates any top sportsman or sporting coach in any code? I think you'll find more often than not it is success at the highest level and not money.
The desire to achieve your best and win.
I think there is far more to being an international rugby coach than national pride.
Do you think a foreign coach spends hours planning training sessions and running moves/drills and then gets to game day and doesn't give a fuck if the players perform poorly because after all, they're not from that country?
I think it is crazy to suggest that someone spending every single day working towards something (in a field they are passionate about) doesn't become heavily invested in what they are doing regardless of their nationality.
To turn the argument around, do you think Graham Henry was a good All Blacks coach just because he was from New Zealand and he was coaching New Zealand?
Richo
John Thornett (49)
Right. It has to be the whole reason.
Richo
John Thornett (49)
It's not a part-time job.
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