Queensland Reds coach Phil Mooney to seek national help from Robbie Deans
By Wayne Smith
June 20, 2009
Wallabies assistant coach Jim Williams is likely to be asked to take a more hands-on role with Queensland Reds in the next Super 14 campaign following the sacking of forwards coach Mark Bell.
Reds head coach Phil Mooney, whose review of the season led to the dismissal of Bell and team manager Brendan Morris, which in turn triggered the protest resignation of high performance manager Ben Whitaker, said it would make sense for the Reds to tap into the Australian Rugby Union's resources.
"Robbie Deans has always said he wants his assistant coaches out coaching, not sitting in an office," Mooney said.
"I haven't spoken to Robbie about having more access to Jim Williams, but it's good management for the ARU to let their coaches coach."
Williams, who played much of his early club rugby with Mooney at Wests in Brisbane, did some breakdown work with the Reds this season, but the synergy with the Wallabies camp goes way beyond that.
It was evident this season that Mooney was taking the Reds in a direction that dovetailed with what Deans was trying to do with the Wallabies.
If nothing else, the Reds' failures highlighted why Deans places such a heavy emphasis on individual skills and unstinting commitment to the team cause.
Mooney promised to consult his senior players before making any new coaching appointments, specifically indicating he would be talking over the situation with his playmaker, Berrick Barnes.
Barnes still has not recommitted to the Reds for 2010, insisting he wanted to let the review run its course before deciding on his playing future.
Similarly, veteran hooker Sean Hardman will delay his decision on whether to retire or give the Reds one more season, depending on the direction Mooney intends to take the Queensland side.
Barnes admitted the reticence he and Hardman were showing, coming on top of Rocky Elsom's decision to extricate himself from what he saw developing into an unhappy situation with the Reds, did not send "the right message" to Queensland supporters.
"But I've been there four years now and I have to somewhat look after myself in this sort of situation," Barnes said in Melbourne, on the eve of the second Test against Italy.
"It's an important time in my career. I just want to look at where they're going and if that's a direction where I'm comfortable they can make some inroads, I'd love to be a part of it.
"You know how much I love Queensland. It would have to be a hell of a lot for me to go."
Mooney, already buoyed by winger Digby Ioane's decision to recommit to the Reds, is hopeful that Barnes will follow suit.
"I'm certainly confident that Berrick will want to stay once we've had a chance to talk," Mooney said.
Certainly if the Reds secure both Barnes and Ioane, it would boost their chances of luring Test fullback James O'Connor, 18, back to his native Queensland.
Snaring O'Connor would mean the Reds could field an all-Australian backline next season, save for halfback Will Genia, who surely would have been in the current Test squad had he not required hand surgery that put him out for four months.
Western Force played its trump card in its bid to retain O'Connor, announcing that World Cup-winning Springbok five-eighth Andre Pretorius would join the Perth team next season as its marquee international.
O'Connor has been deferring his decision on whether to stay in Perth until the Force secured a replacement playmaker to fill the shoes of Brumbies-bound Matt Giteau, and it's safe to say Pretorius should provide reassurance to the youngster.
