Ewen McKenzie: Wallaby Coach

[lewisr]

It seems the board has either been too laissez-faire or too controlling on the wrong situations.

I think it's more that they lacked the balls to do anything. They came crawling back to JO'N to resign him as a quick fix and it worked for a few years but they really needed to have some who was a better long term option who was going to produce long term results rather than save their own face and look for the big fat undeserved bonus at the end of it. Deans was resigned because they didn't want to lose a high quality coach overseas after the worldcup in case he got a better offer elsewhere. It all points to risk averse, avoid all blame kind of management.

With the likes of John Eales, George Gregan and Peter Cosgrove on the board, you would hope they would have the tenacity to make the big calls when they were needed but obviously in some cases that just has not occurred. It will be interesting to see if, for all his talk, Pulver can actually do something with the ARU and turn it into a remotely successful financial institution on the balance sheet.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I'm going to give Deans a big tick for resigning even if he was asked to and I have no problem with the board letting him retain whatever dignity that allows him.
Maybe we need some reflection on how any of us would feel in his position.
No one died - its a game.

 

[Pfitzy]

Those defending Knuckles should probably have a look at some of his player selections. He had a boner for size, and ignored skilled props like Robinson in favour of lumps like Holmes and Shepherdson.

His record at Qld speaks for itself.... Until you look at the playing roster he had for many years including legends of the game. Narrow, ten man, boring territory rugby that is remembered fondly by QLDers because it delivered titles.

But Deans gets shot for apparent boring rugby because he didn't deliver trophies. [Edit] or enough Queenslanders in his teams...

C'est la vie

-----------------------
I hate autocorrect ...

 

[Gnostic]

I think it's more that they lacked the balls to do anything. They came crawling back to JO'N to resign him as a quick fix and it worked for a few years but they really needed to have some who was a better long term option who was going to produce long term results rather than save their own face and look for the big fat undeserved bonus at the end of it. Deans was resigned because they didn't want to lose a high quality coach overseas after the worldcup in case he got a better offer elsewhere. It all points to risk averse, avoid all blame kind of management.

With the likes of John Eales, George Gregan and Peter Cosgrove on the board, you would hope they would have the tenacity to make the big calls when they were needed but obviously in some cases that just has not occurred. It will be interesting to see if, for all his talk, Pulver can actually do something with the ARU and turn it into a remotely successful financial institution on the balance sheet.

I have to ask how many on the board have serious business experience?

Cosgrove has massive leadership and incident management experience, but really he was never that worried about budgets as he always had the bottomless pit of the Federal Government. Anybody who doubts this has never had a close look at the how often Defence projects and general budgets have massive cost over-runs in the Billions of $.

As for Eales and Gregan, great players yes, but Senior Managers? What previous experience did they have managing at this level prior? It is a big error in my view to appoint people to high office for the sake of PR and here the ARU has made the same errors as the Australian Labour party cherry picking celebrities.

So three members of the ARU board had limited board experience, and two limited managerial experience at any level, excepting their experience as Wallabies Captains. That is a significant issue IMO.

From experience when people are placed in high pressure and results driven areas at too Junior or low a level of experience in many (but not all) instances they follow a mentor in the decisions they make. In a highly politicised environment with all the backroom deals such as the ARU that is a recipe for ethical disaster, and perhaps that is a big reason why we have seen the results we have seen from Head Office.

 

[Blue]

#deansforqueensland

Just think of it. He'll bring Barnes back and sign McCabe.

 

[Braveheart81]

#deansforqueensland

Just think of it. He'll bring Barnes back and sign McCabe.

I hear the fishing is excellent in Queensland also...

 

[RedsHappy]

I think it's more that they lacked the balls to do anything. They came crawling back to JO'N to resign him as a quick fix and it worked for a few years but they really needed to have some who was a better long term option who was going to produce long term results rather than save their own face and look for the big fat undeserved bonus at the end of it. Deans was resigned because they didn't want to lose a high quality coach overseas after the worldcup in case he got a better offer elsewhere. It all points to risk averse, avoid all blame kind of management.

With the likes of John Eales, George Gregan and Peter Cosgrove on the board, you would hope they would have the tenacity to make the big calls when they were needed but obviously in some cases that just has not occurred. It will be interesting to see if, for all his talk, Pulver can actually do something with the ARU and turn it into a remotely successful financial institution on the balance sheet.

It was powerfully revealing when, after the 'major governance review' of the ARU's structure was announced, P Cosgrove was asked the obvious question: 'Will there also now be major changes to the composition of the ARU board?'. His answer (paraphrasing): 'No, we have an enormous amount of rugby experience on this board and there's no need to change that.'

The core problem of Australia's principal rugby management and board structures (both ARU and state RUs) is a chronic lack of accountability for measurable results, both formally and ethically.

 

[darkhorse]

I think it is bullshit to suggest that Deans took over a team that was in shambles as somehow indicating that he did a good job. The team he took was poorly ranked due to a horrific world cup, but it had a huge amount of talent.

The poor ranking wasn't reflective of what had happened in previous years when the wallabies were far superior to the boks and a lot of northern hemisphere teams.

Anyhow, the team that Deans took over was a bloody good one.

AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Tuqiri, Mortlock, Gits, Mitchell, Barnes, Burgess, Palu, Elsom, Smith, Vickerman, Sharpe, Baxter, Moore, Robinson.

It also shouldn't be forgotten that he had some solid players in TPN, McMeniman, Horwill, Hynes and Cross (at the time).

Out of that starting 15 only Barnes and Burgess could be considered replacements from the previous era. Also, the scrum was not the shambles that everyone makes it out to be, with Foley having done an excellent job there and continued to do so until he left.

It was Deans' fault that he choose to play a ball running inside centre at five-eighth, despite no experience there; and also play a passing five-eighth with solid defence, but nothing to offer when running the ball at inside centre. For the life of me, I cannot understand the logic of switching Barnes and Giteau. The decision morphed the wallabies from having a direct backline, to one that simply shifted the ball laterally across the field, as every time barnes got the ball he had no option but to pass it, kick it, or make an insipid run. Putting Giteau at 10 really is reminiscent of a recent decision to put another exceptional ball runner at 10.

I really do feel sorry for Barnes, because I think under the right guidance and having been given the time at 10 consistently he could have shone there.

There are countless other decisions that you could rage about deans making - switching prop sides at international level for e.g. - but the thing makes the most upset is how he slowly, but surely eroded our once proud backline into something I don't know how to describe, but comes closest to being nothing. The biggest highlight of this [on the weekend] was that the only try we scored and the only time we seemed capable of anything were due to individual moments of brilliance and not due to teamwork.

 

[TOCC]

I have to ask how many on the board have serious business experience?

Cosgrove has massive leadership and incident management experience, but really he was never that worried about budgets as he always had the bottomless pit of the Federal Government. Anybody who doubts this has never had a close look at the how often Defence projects and general budgets have massive cost over-runs in the Billions of $.

Gnostic, Defence funding is far from a bottomless pit, also defence procurement projects run separate from the defence operating budget and is controlled by the largely civilian staffed DMO. It categorically falls under the department of defence but is outside the organisational structure governed by the chief of defence.

In defence units need to bid for funding from the higher echelons, they effectively sell themselves and their capabilities. In turn then are then graded in a priority order and budgets are subsequently out laid from there based on a 12 months budget projection.. Budgets from there tread a fine line in funding small acquisitions and training/exercise budgets for the year.

 

[It is what it is]

Don't underestimate the contribution Jim McKay has made as backs coach of Queensland. He is a dark horse for a Wallaby coaching assistant's role.

 

[Braveheart81]

Anyhow, the team that Deans took over was a bloody good one.

AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Tuqiri, Mortlock, Gits, Mitchell, Barnes, Burgess, Palu, Elsom, Smith, Vickerman, Sharpe, Baxter, Moore, Robinson.

It also shouldn't be forgotten that he had some solid players in TPN, McMeniman, Horwill, Hynes and Cross (at the time).

Out of that starting 15 only Barnes and Burgess could be considered replacements from the previous era. Also, the scrum was not the shambles that everyone makes it out to be, with Foley having done an excellent job there and continued to do so until he left.

If you're going to talk about the transition of the Wallabies from 2007 to 2008 it would seem unusual not to mention the retirements of Gregan, Larkham and Latham.

Combine that with the fact that Mortlock and Smith were nearing the end of their Wallaby careers and we'd just been bundled out of the RWC in the quarter finals after having our scrum comprehensively destroyed would seem to suggest to me that the Wallabies were entering a big rebuilding stage.

Look at the teams we fielded in 2007. A fair chunk of those players didn't play very many more tests either because they were too old, not good enough or they went overseas.

When you compare that to the current situation where every player who played test rugby this year barring George Smith are highly likely to play for the Wallabies for several years to come. Certainly you'd expect every current player barring the couple who are off overseas to be pushing for spots in the 2015 RWC squad.

 

[emuarse]

It is interesting that with regard to Jake White as Wallaby coach, that although the Brumbies said they were OK for him to be released from his contract, they were not prepared to have White take with him Laurie Fisher &/or Stephen Larkham.
Although Jake has a fine coaching record, one wonders how much is owed in the Brumbies' success this year to these two assistant coaches.
This may well have been a perceived weakness in Jake getting the appointment.

 

[Slim 293]

Was White actually going to take them with him if he got the job?

And of course the Brumbies wouldn't want their entire coaching staff departing..........

I don't think it had anything to do with him not getting the appointment..........

 

[darkhorse]

If you're going to talk about the transition of the Wallabies from 2007 to 2008 it would seem unusual not to mention the retirements of Gregan, Larkham and Latham.

Combine that with the fact that Mortlock and Smith were nearing the end of their Wallaby careers and we'd just been bundled out of the RWC in the quarter finals after having our scrum comprehensively destroyed would seem to suggest to me that the Wallabies were entering a big rebuilding stage.

Look at the teams we fielded in 2007. A fair chunk of those players didn't play very many more tests either because they were too old, not good enough or they went overseas.

When you compare that to the current situation where every player who played test rugby this year barring George Smith are highly likely to play for the Wallabies for several years to come. Certainly you'd expect every current player barring the couple who are off overseas to be pushing for spots in the 2015 RWC squad.

I did mention Gregan and Larkham - not explicitly - if you notice the sections describing how barnes and burgess were replacements. Yes, Latham was neglected, but there was an adequate replacement there in AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Hynes or Mitchell.

After every world cup, or every year of test footy, there are going to be retirements. Retirements are fact of life that every coach has to deal with.

Mortlock was nowhere near decline at that stage and Smith was clearly far from it as shown now.

The point is, we weren't a shambles when Deans took over. IMO, he didn't have to perform miracles with the playing roster and the stats about our world rankings at that time are misleading.

We have been a consistently good team over the years and not much has changed since Deans took over. We couldn't beat the All Blacks before and we still can't now. Oh, and our backline is now completely dysfunctional.

 

[Train Without a Station]

We couldn't beat the All Blacks before and we still can't now.

I dispute that. We couldn't win the Bledisloe, but there were no 10 game losing streaks. That was something Robbie introduced.

 

[Cassius88]

I dispute that. We couldn't win the Bledisloe, but there were no 10 game losing streaks. That was something Robbie introduced.

I also resent that people base Deans' legacy on his record against the ABs. The ABs are a far better team than Australia and it has nothing (or little) to do with coaching. I'm not saying we should just accept that losing to them is a fact of life, but a coach shouldn't be lambasted for it. Especially considering that we hadn't won the Bledisloe in the 5 years prior to Robbie taking over.

 

[MrTimms]

Tuesday, 9th July, 2013



EWEN McKENZIE ANNOUNCED AS NEW QANTAS WALLABIES HEAD COACH





*NOTE TO EDITORS: Ewen McKenzie’s Bio is attached for editorial use*





Australian Rugby Union has today announced former Test prop Ewen McKenzie as the new Qantas Wallabies Head Coach from early August.



McKenzie replaces Robbie Deans, who has decided to step down from the role following the DHL Australia 2013 Lions Tour.



Deans has resigned prior to the December expiry of his coaching contract, giving McKenzie the opportunity to guide the Qantas Wallabies’ upcoming campaign in the Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship and the Grand Slam Spring Tour in November.



In ascending to the country’s top coaching position, McKenzie becomes the first former Australian international installed in the job since Dave Brockhoff coached the Wallabies to a Bledisloe Cup success in his final year at the helm in 1979.



The ARU Board endorsed McKenzie to succeed Deans after receiving a recommendation from ARU CEO Bill Pulver.



Mr Pulver said with Deans’ contract set to expire at the end of 2013, an advisory group approved by the Board had been assessing the coaching position and potential candidates – including Deans – as the season progressed.



“We have been conducting that due diligence over the last few months, taking into account broad criteria for coach selection,” he said.



“Consideration was given to leadership skills, discipline, coaching capability, coaching records, and important factors such as character, values and style of play.



“Therefore, we were well prepared depending on how the year unfolded.



“Robbie resigning in the wake of the Lions Tour did not catch us unprepared to move forward with a replacement.



“Having established the necessary criteria, and spoken to the relevant people, we were convinced that Ewen was now the man to take the Qantas Wallabies forward.



“His opportunity comes forward quickly, with the Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship and the opening match of that competition – the Bledisloe Cup showdown with the All Blacks on August 17.



“In welcoming Ewen, ARU also wants to say a sincere thank you to Robbie Deans for his massive contribution to the game in this country over a long period of time.



“Robbie came into the job in 2008, improved our away record almost immediately, delivered a Tri Nations title in 2011, and has been a significant part of a Lions Tour that over shadows any other Rugby event in Australia since the 2003 Rugby World Cup.



“To Robbie, we wish him all the best in his future endeavours and to build further on what is one of world Rugby’s most impressive coaching resumes.”



Incoming Qantas Wallabies coach, Ewen McKenzie, said he felt humbled at being appointed coach of the Qantas Wallabies and was excited by the opportunities that lay ahead.



“To coach the Wallabies is a huge honour and also a special opportunity to lead a team that I’ve enjoyed many great experiences with in the past as both a player and coach,” McKenzie said.



“As a role at the highest level, it’s one I aspire to because I truly believe I’m ready to make a difference on many levels.



“It’s not a role without challenges but is also one that comes with great opportunity and a chance to influence the current state of Rugby both on and off the field.



“There’s no denying that Rugby functions within a hugely competitive sporting landscape and it’s important that the Qantas Wallabies are viewed as a central part of it and that the Australian Rugby brand is providing inspiration for our fans and the next generation of players.



“There are so many positives this game brings and by unifying all its parts and working efficiently together we can create a culture and structure whereby the Wallabies are consistently successful at the highest level in the biggest games.



“There is a significant opportunity with The Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship commencing in August and I think everyone is looking forward to getting to work and tackling the challenges ahead.”

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[No4918]

Love it, engaging & well spoken.

Edit: on second read you can see the ARU's media interns has had an influence. Will have to wait for his pressers. To get the unedited versions.

 

[Train Without a Station]

I also resent that people base Deans' legacy on his record against the ABs. The ABs are a far better team than Australia and it has nothing (or little) to do with coaching. I'm not saying we should just accept that losing to them is a fact of life, but a coach shouldn't be lambasted for it. Especially considering that we hadn't won the Bledisloe in the 5 years prior to Robbie taking over.

The AB's are a far better team. Yes. Not a far better group of players. Hence the issue. It was his job to make them an equal team.

I'm sick of this cop out attitude of "oh the AB's are just so much better than every team". The 2007 or 2003 All Blacks with the players at their disposal would have almost certainly towelled up the 2012 All Blacks. The only positions where they have better players now than then is really where they have the same players like McCaw and Carter who have improved. The All Blacks have regressed since then, the competition has just regressed further.

 

[James Buchanan]

The All Blacks have regressed since then, the competition has just regressed further.

This statement makes me think that your glasses might be a tad rose coloured.