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Wallabies 2023

Tomikin

David Codey (61)
Hopefully McKellar goes too. Maybe Richard Cockerill will come with Eddie to do scrum. Louden would be a risk but he is a very good Attack Coach. He'd be good as Eddie will call the shots and make sure he stays in his lane. But don't be surprised to see Wisey back. He and Eddie are great mates and work well together.
Why ?
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
McKellar is interesting, assuming all coaches aspire to be a Test coach I'd say the tree is generally Test assistant -> Super/Club coach -> Test head coach so he went from a stable job at the Brumbies to Wallabies assistant purely for succession planning but now that's gone for the next 5 years. Larkham is back at the Brumbies. Does he want to be an assistant for the next 5 years (does Eddie even want him??)
 

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I would like to think that McKellar realised last year that it was unlikely he would succeed Rennie based on the Wallaby's performances...

He's obviously got a good record as a forwards coach, and head coach in Super Rugby, so I'd like to see if he can have more success at the Wobs with someone else in charge.

But also happy for him to return to the Brumbies...
 

PhilClinton

Mark Loane (55)
McKellar will be gutted.

Surely he thought he was next in line, now that path is closed (most likely). Even if he stays, perhaps coz of cost of sacking him also, he won't stick around for 5 years waiting for another shot at the top gig.

But Surely McKellar figured he wasn't a genuine chance of the Wallabies gig for a while now?

Whilst the Eddie shock is a big one (as in happening right now) there seems to have been numerous other candidates who were ahead of McKellar.
 

Wilson

Phil Kearns (64)
McKellar is interesting, assuming all coaches aspire to be a Test coach I'd say the tree is generally Test assistant -> Super/Club coach -> Test head coach so he went from a stable job at the Brumbies to Wallabies assistant purely for succession planning but now that's gone for the next 5 years. Larkham is back at the Brumbies. Does he want to be an assistant for the next 5 years (does Eddie even want him??)
The time as a test assistant definitely helps his case down the road, but as it stands he could do with more head coaching experience before taking the role on. Test Assistant -> Head Coach only seems to work when the side is going well anyway, it's not a position we've been in to pull that transition off from for some time.

I do agree he won't look to hang around as an assistant for 5 years though, that said there will probably be a couple of super rugby gigs open by next year (Rebels and Reds look likely) if he wants to to stay in Australia. Should be plenty of options open for him OS as well, I just hope RA don't burn the bridge there if he does take one of them.

The other part to consider will be what actually happens with the Wallaroos program. It sounds like Eddie is overseeing in a Director of Rugby type roll, so I imagine there's still a head coach gig that will probably see increasing investment over that 5 year period. Not sure if this is something McKellar would be interested in, but it'd be a good place to build that resume while remaining close by.
 

PhilClinton

Mark Loane (55)
The other part to consider will be what actually happens with the Wallaroos program. It sounds like Eddie is overseeing in a Director of Rugby type roll, so I imagine there's still a head coach gig that will probably see increasing investment over that 5 year period. Not sure if this is something McKellar would be interested in, but it'd be a good place to build that resume while remaining close by.
Being part of a growing rugby program might not be the best move if he's looking to move onto a head coaching role in the next few years.

He's already done some hard yards, it can take a while to get the results in a 'new' program.
 

rodha

Dave Cowper (27)
Hopefully McKellar goes too. Maybe Richard Cockerill will come with Eddie to do scrum. Louden would be a risk but he is a very good Attack Coach.

Todd Louden was the Rebel's attack coach for 1 season in 2015, when they had their best season under Tony McGahan.

I'm quite sure that 2015 remains the Rebel's most successful season, notably they upset Crusaders 20-10 in Round 1.

Before that he won a Super Rugby title as assistant coach to Heyneke Meyer with the Bulls in 2007.

He was also Waratah's backline coach under Ewen McKenzie when they made the 2008 final.

It's a pretty impressive CV all things considered.
 
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The Ghost of Raelene

David Codey (61)
Could McKellar be the Reds coach this time next year? Thorn has had a fair run at it now.

Pure Speculation. I'm sure he could pick up a job OS if he is set on being a head coach
 
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Wilson

Phil Kearns (64)
Being part of a growing rugby program might not be the best move if he's looking to move onto a head coaching role in the next few years.

He's already done some hard yards, it can take a while to get the results in a 'new' program.
I agree it's the least likely of those options, but with the state of the Women's game at the moment there's an opportunity for pretty immediate improvement and results, assuming RA are ready to pony up the actual investment. It does also have the advantage of being representative level coaching with all the challenges and problems that come with it, experience that can be hard to get unless you can find a tier 2 side to head coach.
 

Wilson

Phil Kearns (64)
Could McKellar be the Reds coach this time next year? Thorn has had a fair run at it now.

Pure Speculation. I'm sure he could pick up a job OS if he is set on being a head coach
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if this is Thorn and Cordingley's last year at the Reds so it's a definite possibility. It'll still all depend on results, but at this stage I think the threshold for a contract extension is going to be pretty high. I'd expect the Rebels will probably sack Foote before the year is up too, I can't see them improving much on last year.
 

Tomikin

David Codey (61)
Could McKellar be the Reds coach this time next year? Thorn has had a fair run at it now.

Pure Speculation. I'm sure he could pick up a job OS if he is set on being a head coach
I think could he go coach Japan, or another overseas country, maybe the USA, I don't know I expect him to want to go international... or a big club in France / England..
 

Brumbieman

Dick Tooth (41)
RE McKellar - everything I’ve ever heard from him on the grapevine/his own public statements suggests to me that he would be dancing around his living room right now.

He’s had success at the Brumbies, but not yet actually won anything, so the opportunity to work with Eddie over the next few years with two world cups and a Lions series as part of his potential future CV in such a short period of time must look like he’s hit the jackpot.
 
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