Monday’s rugby news has all the fallout from Link’s departure, with comments by Hooper, Pulver and Kafer, plus some injuries in the English squad.
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Link had players’ respect
Wallabies captain Michael Hooper insists that former coach Ewen McKenzie retained the players’ respect throughout his tenure. Link announced his resignation after Australia’s narrow defeat to the All Blacks on Saturday.
“He’s been great for us as a playing group. He’s put a lot of things in place,” Hooper said, while emphasising that the Test team would need to move on very quickly ahead of their departure on Friday for the upcoming European tour.
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Pulver regrets lack of oversight
ARU boss Bill Pulver has conceded that giving Ewen McKenzie free reign over both the hiring of all the off-field staff and the on-field environment may have contributed to the recent crisis. Pulver emphasised that Di Patston was not at fault, but suggested that the frequent movement of staff did contribute to a general sense of instability.
Pulver also blamed the “extraordinary character assassination” within the media for Link’s perception that he could not achieve the level of respect which the post required.
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Cheika backed as next in line
Waratahs coach Michael Cheika looks likely to lead the Test team into the European tour after McKenzie’s resignation. While former Brumbies and Springboks coach Jake White would be another option, former Wallaby Rod Kafer said that Cheika has been in discussions with the ARU already.
“He’s the natural man to do it,” said Kafer. “He is a coach who has clearly had great success and recent success, understands the game and is much-loved here particularly in Sydney because of the way he had the Waratahs play the game.”
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English team battling injuries
English coach Stuart Lancaster will be sweating on the injury diagnoses of centres Manu Tuilagi and Kyle Eastmond, who were both forced from the field in the opening round of last weekend’s club matches.
Tuilagi seems to have suffered a reoccurence of a groin injury that kept him out of three Premiership games earlier this season, and the English midfielder could struggle to be fit for the upcoming Autumn Internationals. Eastmond will also be tough-and-go, coming off the field in the first half of the Bath-Glasgow match clutching his ribs. [/one_half]
