Wallabies and Reds legend Tim Horan has urged Queensland Rugby to chase a big-name coach with global experience after Brad Thorn announced he would finish a seven-year stint as head coach of the Reds at the end of the season.
After a poor start to the campaign ignited debate about his future, Thorn ended the speculation by revealing he would not seek a contract extension at the end of the Super Rugby season in June.
Horan praised Thorn for his work in rebuilding the Reds since taking over in 2018, and for giving the Reds ample time to recruit a successor in a World Cup year, when many coaches come off contract.
QRU boss David Hanham confirmed the club has money to spend and is aiming to have a new head coach signed by September-October, before a December pre-season.
“If we can find the right person within a month, then we wouldn’t muck around,” Hanham said.
Two of the leading Australian candidates mentioned in dispatches are already out of the mix, with Connacht and former Brumbies coach Andy Friend confirming to the Herald from Ireland he will not be returning to Australia until early next year. Australia A coach Jason Gilmore has already recommitted to the Waratahs as defence coach for next year, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Brad Thorn will step away from the Reds after the season ends.Credit: Getty
Reds assistant coach Mick Heenan, who is a highly successful Brisbane club coach, is expected to be a candidate but Horan said Queensland should be chasing big fish.
“There are maybe five or six big-name coaches out there, and you’d say we’d love to have you on board. We can’t pay you what you’re currently on, but we’d give you a good lifestyle and give you a team with plenty of upside,” Horan said.
As far as the choice between giving a shot to a rising Australian coach or bringing in a coach with experience and a proven track record, the Reds appear to be aiming for the latter.
“The key is finding a head coach that has had the experience as a head coach, and delivered a positive outcome in coaching a team to success,” Hanham said.
Would Robbie Deans be interested in coaching Queensland?
“That is not determined by a certain age but that’s key, so a head coach with experience, who has delivered success and can demonstrate that in the right environment.”
The biggest name being floated in Queensland rugby circles as a “dream candidate” is former Wallabies and Crusaders coach Robbie Deans, who is currently coaching Panasonic in Japan. Deans, who won five Super Rugby premierships, continued his title-winning ways with Panasonic, collecting five of the last nine Japanese titles.
The Reds and Panasonic announced a formal club-to-club relationship at the start of the year.
Asked whether he would knock on Deans’ door, Hanham was coy but also hailed the Kiwi as a coach.
QRU chief executive David Hanham.Credit: Brendan Hertel/QRU Media
“We’d have to carefully consider that [making an approach],” Hanham told the Herald.
“I would want to sit down with our guys to understand exactly what we are trying to achieve and keep in mind we have a process with Rugby Australia, they’re part of the process around head coach. So what does that look like in the rugby ecosystem of the game?
“He [Deans] is a quality coach, he has had proven success, he has had proven success over in Japan. But we have a strong relationship with Panasonic, and he may have long-term commitments over there as well.”
Former Scotland coach Vern Cotter and current Japan coach Jamie Joseph have also been mentioned as potential targets for the Reds. The chance to get Dan McKellar back to Queensland was lost when he accepted the Leicester Tigers job. Ex-Wallabies defence coach Matt Taylor is also a candidate.
Hanham said appointing an Australian would be ideal, but is “not a non-negotiable”.
The QRU chief executive said he believes the Reds present as an attractive destination for head coaches, with a strong roster and loyal fan base, a new training facility at Ballymore opening next year and rejuvenated finances that will allow for a competitive salary to be offered.
“Whoever it is, and I don’t want to land on an individual and say, ‘This is who we’d go for’, but if we look at the last seven years, the QRU has had to drag itself out of a pretty dire financial situation, so from an investment into a head coach position, we are now well positioned to look at what the next chapter looks like,” Hanham said.
“That’s one part. We have a very good playing list, that has a few more players to land over the next month or two, with a bit more left for a head coach to come in and have influence over, in terms of spend.
“And infrastructure-wise and facility and just general pride in being a rugby state, it’s actually a pretty good job to take on. It’s all there. You are not starting with the disaster, when Brad started. We had turnover issues, we had behavioural issues, we had cultural issues within the team. You had financial distress. It’s a much different set of circumstances now.
Queensland Reds coach Brad Thorn.Credit: Getty Images
“I feel like we are in a good position. Brad has left it in a good position, we are in a good place, we have a good playing list and from a timing perspective, we are going into a new facility at Ballymore, and the QRU financially is in a good place. So we are able to make some bigger calls about investment into those roles.”
The Reds are keen for Thorn to remain involved at the club in a development capacity but the dual international said he would take a break after the season finishes.
“I am looking to have a break,” he said.
“It has been pretty hectic. My main job is that I am a father of four teenagers. I get to have a break and have some space. The opportunity around the [Reds] academy … I appreciate that opportunity, but I will take a breath. There haven’t been many breaths since I was 17.”
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