Ewen McKenzie Resignation

[Hell West & Crooked]

oh well now i am convinced

Yes - your logic is very solid - White's motivation to win the world cup would somehow be much stronger than Dean's to beat New Zealand in the last one - (on home soil - against the coach the NZ Rugby Union passed him over for) - and for THAT psychological nonsense we must have put up with all the indiscipline and other crap that went on under his tenure... Get a Fucking Grip.

White is not - and never was - the answer.

 

[Lorenzo]

Released or paid out. Paying them out would be a juicy carrot the 'me' first players couldn't refuse. They are the ones I least want to be in the team heading into a RWC.

Erm. If Im 28 or 29 and you're gonna pay me 400K to go away and I can go to france and make another 400K there next year, I'm going to france with your money.

You have to be realistic.

 

[Lorenzo]

Yes - your logic is very solid - White's motivation to win the world cup would somehow be much stronger than Dean's to beat New Zealand in the last one - (on home soil - against the coach the NZ Rugby Union passed him over for) - and for THAT psychological nonsense we must have put up with all the indiscipline and other crap that went on under his tenure. Get a Fucking Grip.

White is not - and never was - the answer.

You're the one going on about extraneous bullshit like whether or not he does things for the brumbies or australian rugby.

Who cares why he does them? As long as he wants to win I don't give a shit about his motivation.

 

[RoffsChoice]

Experience is always good, competitiveness is always good, awareness is always good. That can all be undone by prejudices and biases, though, and we'll never know if White, Cheika, Henry or any of the candidates are safe from those until they get the job.
What I do know is that I was concerned that Link would come into the test arena and be biased in favour of the Reds, and to all our joy he wasn't in any way. That kind of maturity escapes even the best coaches, and it's a real shame that it's lost to us.

 

[Ulrich]

Jake plays a very, very simple but effective game plan. This means a bit of kicking yes, but Australia have the players for that.

Saying Australia can't play a bit of a kicking game is saying the Springboks can't run the ball and score magnificent tries.

 

[Lorenzo]

Jake plays a very, very simple but effective game plan. This means a bit of kicking yes, but Australia have the players for that.

Saying Australia can't play a bit of a kicking game is saying the Springboks can't run the ball and score magnificent tries.

The people on this board just don't want it. All kinds of reasons for not doing it get offered up. The primary two are a)it's not 2007 anymore and reffing has changed to award sides that play with the ball, and b) we don't have the players for it.

Some here would literally rather lose playing basketball than win playing field position rugby.

 

[Dave Beat]

Gutted to see him move on, it is our loss.

 

[Ulrich]

The people on this board just don't want it. All kinds of reasons for not doing it get offered up. The primary two are a)it's not 2007 anymore and reffing has changed to award sides that play with the ball, and b) we don't have the players for it.

Some here would literally rather lose playing basketball than win playing field position rugby.

Certainly seems like it.

Let us not overlook White's philosophy on defense which is that defense wins world cups because when 80 000 people in the stands and the rest of the world are watching you you don't want to be the player remembered for a defensive lapse.

 

[RoffsChoice]

What's our aim with our next coach? Build a dynasty or survive until after the world cup?

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Unfortunately we don't have a lot of options since Link decided that he couldn't go on. I'm pretty dismayed also at some the digs people are having at him for quitting. Put yourselves in his shoes, would you put up with that shit and press on under the increasingly intense scrutiny and muck raking from some very ordinary press coverage? He's been hounded out of town by a bunch of unprincipled gossip mongers. His (and Di Patston's) reputations have been impugned and that is bound to hurt a bloke who, by all accounts, is a stand up guy. He would also be forever looking over his shoulder at the playing group, several of whom seemed to have decided that their mate should stay. When two of these individuals are the captain and vice captain respectively, it puts the coach in a very difficult position.

As far as White goes, he spat the dummy when he didn't get the Wallaby job. Fair enough, can't win 'em all and he was disappointed. Doesn't mean I want him as coach now, with the main reason being that I don't want Jakeball at the Wallabies. The second being that I don't think he'll have any greater success with this player group than Link did.

I'm a great admirer of what Cheika has done with the Tahs and he appears to be the best choice at this moment. He has them playing a fabulous (and winning) brand of footy that I would go a long way to watch. I'm just bloody disappointed it's in 2014 and not 2016 that his chance may come.

 

[Lorenzo]

Cheika's tahball isn't going to translate to tournament victories at test level, though he must know this.

 

[Hell West & Crooked]

You're the one going on about extraneous bullshit like whether or not he does things for the brumbies or australian rugby.

Who cares why he does them? As long as he wants to win I don't give a shit about his motivation.

The ARU had the good sense to pass him over once before - I expect them to have already passed him over, again.

 

[Biffo]

I wish Jayden Hayward would hurry up and be eligible for Australia.

errr, hasn't he slowed right down, to a crawl?
or, better, stopped?

 

[qwerty51]

The only two "reliable" in game kickers for the Wallabies are To'omua and Cooper. I wish Jayden Hayward would hurry up and be eligible for Australia.

Jayden Hayward is gone. Plays for Treviso now.

 

[tragic]

Unless KB (Kurtley Beale) and his lawyers can somehow disprove what he had done he should be gone.

You simply can't go and send insulting texts, especially in a sexual context to people. You don't do that - ever! Period.

His texts have:

• Resulted in the resignation of Ewen McKenzie.
• Brought the ARU into the limelight for all the wrong reasons.
• Shown the lack of class on his part and in some ways also that of his teammates.
• Given the impression he's leans toward being a misogynist.
• Most importantly, brought the game into disrepute. This is Rugby Union. I don't care how things go in any other rugby code or in football, basketball, hockey, chess, darts, or fucking Sudoku contests but this game is about RESPECT.

Agree 100%
And I think Bill Pulver and the ARU also agree.
Which is why they are making sure all the t's are crossed and I's are dotted in the hearing process.
They don't want to open themselves up to allegations that beales lawyers were forced to present a rushed and half baked defence etc etc, especially with the tahs players already coming out strongly in support of beale.
I have read comparisons to the ABs handling of the cruden incident, but this is much more serious, and unfortunately that means a more considered and drawn out process.
Pulver also said in the same interview that the ARU would back the legal process and abide by conclusions of the appointed judge - it almost seemed like he was distancing himself and the ARU from the outcome, and abdicating responsibility for the decision to legal process.

 

[wamberal]

I really do not understand the comments made here and elsewhere about perceived state ( or franchise) bias.


Link was brought up in Victoria and played rugby at Scotch College.

He played senior rugby for Randwick, represented the state and his country.


He moved on to the Brumbies. He became an assistant coach for the Wallabies, was apparently offered the head coach gig but rejected it because he did not feel he was ready for it.


He coached in France.

He coached the Tahs.

Finally, and I am sure I have missed some of his rugby career, he coached the Reds.

Given that background, why on earth would he have had a bias for or against any province? As a professional coach he is judged by results on and to some extent off the field, just as Jake White or Michael Cheika are and would be.

Personally I am disappointed that he chose to walk out on his national team responsibilities, at such short notice. It does not say much for his strength of character.

 

[Ulrich]

Unfortunately we don't have a lot of options since Link decided that he couldn't go on. I'm pretty dismayed also at some the digs people are having at him for quitting. Put yourselves in his shoes, would you put up with that shit and press on under the increasingly intense scrutiny and muck raking from some very ordinary press coverage? He's been hounded out of town by a bunch of unprincipled gossip mongers. His (and Di Patston's) reputations have been impugned and that is bound to hurt a bloke who, by all accounts, is a stand up guy. He would also be forever looking over his shoulder at the playing group, several of whom seemed to have decided that their mate should stay. When two of these individuals are the captain and vice captain respectively, it puts the coach in a very difficult position.

As far as White goes, he spat the dummy when he didn't get the Wallaby job. Fair enough, can't win 'em all and he was disappointed. Doesn't mean I want him as coach now, with the main reason being that I don't want Jakeball at the Wallabies. The second being that I don't think he'll have any greater success with this player group than Link did.

I'm a great admirer of what Cheika has done with the Tahs and he appears to be the best choice at this moment. He has them playing a fabulous (and winning) brand of footy that I would go a long way to watch. I'm just bloody disappointed it's in 2014 and not 2016 that his chance may come.

Cheika is a good coach I agree.

Saying Jake won't have more success than Ewen but Cheika will is going a bit far don't you think?

Jake battled through tremendous political turmoil in what is possibly the most difficult international coaching job (being the head of the Springboks). When it was insisted Luke Watson should be given a chance he made it clear he doesn't want him.

He was forced to select him and Luke didn't even last half a season.

In South Africa it's not about bringing a bunch of privilaged players together. It's about bringing black players from disadvantaged past and rich white folk and all those in between to the same level and creating synergy while battling with political influences and unions who couldn't care for the national cause.

You'd be hard-pressed finding another coach who has had to endure what White had endured and still came out on top. Nick Mallet felt it as well back in the day and it resulted in our first and only loss to Wales thanks to political influence.

Jake can navigate these hurdles.

 

[tragic]

a rather comical assertion crops up a lot in this thread --
-- that Australian rugby would be better off if the game shut down in NSW

in that event, from where would the rest of Australia get its players?

Same place as NSW - the pacific islands of course

 

[Gnostic]

Jake plays a very, very simple but effective game plan. This means a bit of kicking yes, but Australia have the players for that.

Saying Australia can't play a bit of a kicking game is saying the Springboks can't run the ball and score magnificent tries.

Really? Kicking from hand has been discussed ad nauseum here for a reason. Since Mark Gerrard left Australian rugby there has not been a reliable long distance kicker in the Australian game. It goes hand in hand with the stupidity of the "running rugby" myth that is always touted.

I know people will now put forward Mogg and White as effective kickers, but the fact remains that their kicking has far too often been inconsistent to be polite, and the other aspects of their game have massive flaws.

Now because some of us have been harping about the lack of specialist kicking coaching in Australia for years now and this hasn't been addressed, I seriously doubt if we have the kickers to cover White's likely game plan.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Cheika is a good coach I agree.

Saying Jake won't have more success than Ewen but Cheika will is going a bit far don't you think?

Jake battled through tremendous political turmoil in what is possibly the most difficult international coaching job (being the head of the Springboks). When it was insisted Luke Watson should be given a chance he made it clear he doesn't want him.

He was forced to select him and Luke didn't even last half a season.

In South Africa it's not about bringing a bunch of privilaged players together. It's about bringing black players from disadvantaged past and rich white folk and all those in between to the same level and creating synergy while battling with political influences and unions who couldn't care for the national cause.

You'd be hard-pressed finding another coach who has had to endure what White had endured and still came out on top. Nick Mallet felt it as well back in the day and it resulted in our first and only loss to Wales thanks to political influence.

Jake can navigate these hurdles.

I certainly agree regarding his negotiation of the political issues in RSA. The situation here would be a little different: he'd be at war with his own players!