Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh said Eddie Jones’ chaotic homecoming last year won’t be a factor in evaluating a possible return of Michael Cheika to the Waratahs, as head office looks to “accelerate” the search for a new coach.
Waugh laid out the plan to replace outgoing Waratahs coach Darren Coleman as he also revealed RA is poised to “take a leadership position and provide certainty” by making a final call on the future of the Melbourne Rebels.
Having assumed control of both the Waratahs and the Rebels in January, Rugby Australia has significant decisions to make at both franchises.
The Waratahs announced this week coach Darren Coleman will not be re-signed and have begun the recruitment process for a replacement.
Though Waugh stressed he wasn’t running the search, Rugby Australia holds the majority of seats on a shared Waratahs board and will have the final say. Waugh said they were now looking to finalise a new structure for the Tahs, which is likely to include a director of rugby and a head coach.
“Those decisions are being made now, in terms of what’s the best structure for success into the future,” Waugh said.
“We’re talking through what’s the right [coach recruitment] process, understanding that we need to accelerate it, otherwise availability of others becomes problematic.
Michael Cheika shakes hands with Eddie Jones during a Argentina-Wallabies clash in 2023.Credit: Getty
“We need the best coaches in the world involved in the Australian system. So my view on it is we need to canvass who is available, and then look at the dynamic of the Waratahs into the Rugby Australia system and the Wallaby system, and then assess who’s the most appropriate.”
Cheika, who guided the Waratahs to their only Super Rugby title in 2014, is on the market after finishing up with Argentina at last year’s Rugby World Cup. The former Australia coach has emerged as a popular option, with Wallabies great Tim Horan calling on RA to pick up the phone to a man who can lift the Waratahs out of the mire, on and off the field.
Asked about Cheika as a candidate, Waugh said: “Clearly, Cheik had a great history at the Waratahs, winning in 2014, and he has gone on as a successful international coach since then. I’ve seen some media commentary around him.
“It’s a matter of making sure that, like we did with Joe Schmidt’s appointment, that there’s a thorough search and ensuring that we have good visibility of who is available in the global game.”
Waugh denied the notion RA may be spooked by Jones’ disastrous return last year, when it comes to assessing a similar homecoming for the France-based Cheika.
“I think you can separate the two,” Waugh said.
“It’s different decision makers and different coaches – I don’t think that you can compare the two [situations]. What’s really important is making sure the appropriate due diligence is completed, and the appropriate process is run get to the best outcome.”
Waugh conceded a coach needed to be able to attract “the best players in the world” to a franchise, which would be a tougher task for a coach stepping into a Super Rugby head coach job for the first time. And many early candidates for the Waratahs fall into that category, including Nathan Grey and John Manenti.
But Waugh said he wouldn’t rule out a first-timer: “The head coach is really important, but what’s also important is the system and people around the head coach. I think that you can have a more inexperienced coach as long as there’s the right support and experience around them.”
Waugh said there was no deadline for signing a new coach “but I think that everyone recognises that we need to move quickly.”
Meanwhile, Waugh indicated a decision on the Rebels’ future is also imminent after months of uncertainty around whether the club will be shut down, or continue, in 2025 and beyond.
With $22m in debts, the Rebels entered voluntary administration in January but ex-Rebels directors won the support of creditors on May 2 to pursue a rescue plan, which is being backed by a consortium of investors.
The Rebels in action in their last game at AAMI Park.Credit: Getty
The plan, centred around a relocation to Tarneit, requires RA to re-issue the Super Rugby licence and ahead of meetings next week in Melbourne, Rugby Australia were finally provided with details of the consortium’s 100-page plan late on Wednesday.
With players, staff and families, living in uncertainty about next year, Waugh conceded a decision on the Rebels future “has to come soon”.
“Clearly, we have a responsibility to players, to staff, to the rugby public to get to an outcome as quickly as possible to provide certainty across the system,” Waugh said.
“We need to take a leadership position and provide certainty. What’s occurring right now is that it’s polluting the overall system. At the moment, the uncertainty is not just around the Rebels environment. It’s around the other four Super Rugby club environments as well. So the longer it takes, the longer the uncertainty across the entire system and that’s a real concern of ours.”
Waugh said threats of legal action from the Rebels would not be a factor in RA’s decision-making.
Asked if there was an issue with former Rebels directors being involved in the club in the future, Waugh said: “Like any proper process, you’d go through a fit and proper person test of who those proposed directors are.”
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