Welcome, once again, to the Weekend Edition.
I’ve just finished a couple of night shifts and am currently navigating that twilight zone between vampire and normal human being. So please excuse me if some of this doesn’t make sense.
I have heard for years that “there isn’t enough talent to support five teams in Australia”. But, if you look across the five Australian Super Rugby sides this is clearly not true. Even the Waratahs, who came last in this year’s comp, are full of talented rugby players. I’ve talked before about how I think the real problem with our Super Rugby teams is coaching and not players, and I stand by that. That’s why I’m concerned with some of the proposed candidates for the vacant Waratahs head coaching role.
When the Reds turned to Brad Thorn in 2018 they had huge money issues and a coach, like Brad, with no experience fitted beautifully within their budget. Thorn was good enough to get a middling result out of the team, but he didn’t have the experience to take them to the next level. And his hard but fair approach didn’t always seem fair to some players, and they moved on.
In 2023, at the end of Brad Thorn’s tenure, the Reds were in a different situation. They had a little money. I think the Reds then did something really clever. They looked outside the Australian system, and they got lucky when London Irish went broke and dropped some coaches in our laps.
What we got was the best of both worlds. A born and bred Queenslander, who had spent year honing his coaching skills, mostly, outside our systems. It will be interesting to see if the 2025 Reds can step up another level.
Which leaves us back at the Waratahs and what coach they are looking for. After their million dollar losses last year and assuming they’ve done similar this year, are they looking at the budget option? Or are they hoping that their takeover by RA comes with a cash injection and a top level coach?
I can’t think of a coach the Tahs could call on with the gravitas that Brad Thorn has. I’ve heard Stephen Hoiles’ name thrown around though. Hoiles is a good rugby man with limited coaching experience, he’d definitely be a left field choice.
Nathan Grey is another name without much head coach experience whose name has been linked to the job. He has assistant coach experience and is the current under 20 Australian coach.
On the experienced end of the scale are Andy Friend and Michael Cheika. Neither have officially declared any interest in the job, and I’m not sure that either would want it. Friend seems to be taking things easy after years of running programs in Canberra and Ireland. Cheika has been the coach at the Waratahs before and has been there and done that. Why do it again?
The other name bandied about is the current Melbourne Rebels coach Kevin Foote. The Rebels have never reached great heights and are one loss away from extinction. They enter the finals off the back of five straight losses, but he is available.
My question to you is: who’d be your budget pick and who’d be your swing for the hills pick?
Well, That’s about as much as my sleep-deprived brain can handle. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you in the comments.
