McKenzie Quits

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Lions1024

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http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby-...s-at-end-of-year/story-fndpt9s1-1226600261664


EWEN McKenzie says he is ready to step up and coach the Wallabies and he doesn't believe he's placing any added pressure on incumbent Robbie Deans by saying so.
McKenzie announced on Tuesday that he will leave his post as Queensland Reds director of coaching at the end of the current Super Rugby season as he hopes to step up to a Test head coaching role.
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Incredibly surprising IMO. McKenzie obviously has done a huge backflip regarding stepping up into a CEO type role at the Reds. It's a momentous loss for The Reds and Australian rugby in general. Can't underestimate the impact he's had on Super Rugby in 3 short years.

On another note, McKenzie won't be the Wallabies HC in the near future. It's probably the right move for him if he does want the job in 5-6 years. There are too many people who dislike him in the current ARU setup, exemplified by the fact that Nucifora was the next in line until his disastrous performance at the Under 20's WC. You would think the Ireland job is his if he wants it, England will inquire again and Heyneke Meyer must be feeling nervous.
 
Lions1024 said:
There are too many people who dislike him in the current ARU setup.
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Who are these people and why don't they like him? Do you know if Pulver is a fan?

The media, until very recently now that Jake White has shown interest, have basically made it seem like McKenzie has it in the bag.

Personally I think McKenzie would be a very good administrator. He seems to have a big picture view of the game and makes a lot of sense when he talks about off the field stuff. But I think he should give an international head coaching role a crack first. Ireland seems the obvious one if you're right about the Wallabies job.
 
Mint Condition said:
Who are these people and why don't they like him? Do you know if Pulver is a fan?

The media, until very recently now that Jake White has shown interest, have basically made it seem like McKenzie has it in the bag.

Personally I think McKenzie would be a very good administrator. He seems to have a big picture view of the game and makes a lot of sense when he talks about off the field stuff. But I think he should give an international head coaching role a crack first. Ireland seems the obvious one if you're right about the Wallabies job.
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Let's just say McKenzie left a few people who vouched for him upset and disgruntled when he turned down the job in 06 (I think?). Coupled with the way he left the Tahs, he isn't exactly the most popular figure within the extremely powerful NSW faction of the ARU. In saying that, if McKenzie wasn't the first choice during the championship winning run, as I am led to believe, I doubt he would be the first choice if Deans gets the sack. The way the ARU dealt with Deans contract extension before the World Cup speaks volumes, it just didn't make sense then. I think there was a concerted effort to alleviate public pressure for the appointment of McKenzie as coach. Up until late last year I've always believed that McKenzie would be the next Wallabies coach. But it became apparent during the Tri-nations, when rumours were circulating that Deans would be sacked, that Nucifora was the next cab off the rank. If Nucifora wasn't so blatant in his undermining and disregard for Deans he would probably still be the next in line. In saying that, the main detractors of McKenzie seemed to be Nucifora and JON (both are gone) so the environment might have changed.
 

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No surprises there. Bloke has talent so if deans doesn't prove himself it wouldn't be the worst result for the wallabies. All of Macs major critics are phasing out of the limelight and with everyone searching for answers as to how the wallabies can get back to their fighting best all options should be on the table
 
robbieando said:
The current setup pretty much wrapped up the positions after the 6 Nations display. If he didn't get the Ireland gig, then he isn't being looked at for the Scotland job
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What do you mean by that?

From all reports, Scott Johnson was going to be the head coach. Something has occurred in the past week or so, that has resulted in Scott Johnson being appointed as director of rugby and the head coaching being filled at the same time by another unnamed coach. I think there are very few coaches going around in the world that would have the clout,power and pedigree to force such a drastic change. Ewen McKenzie, Jake White, Graham Henry and Wayne Smith are really the only coaches that fit the bill.

Let's not forget that Scott Johnson was highly sought after. If the coach that supplanted him isn't high profile, he probably would take another job.
 
Basically McKenzie becoming coach, while having to report back to Johnson isn't something I see any high profile coach being willing to do. I can see a lower profile coach who would be willing to take the step up and work with Johnson on basically the same blueprint, but no high profile coach would do that, nor would egos allow for it to work.
 
robbieando said:
Basically McKenzie becoming coach, while having to report back to Johnson isn't something I see any high profile coach being willing to do. I can see a lower profile coach who would be willing to take the step up and work with Johnson on basically the same blueprint, but no high profile coach would do that, nor would egos allow for it to work.
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Fair enough. Recently, it's become apparent that Ewen isn't going to Scotland. Todd Blackadder is now the name being bandied around. He makes a lot of sense with his history in Scotland.
 
Lions1024 said:
Fair enough. Recently, it's become apparent that Ewen isn't going to Scotland. Todd Blackadder is now the name being bandied around. He makes a lot of sense with his history in Scotland.
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That's the one I heard most as coming out of Scotland itself. The importance of knowledge of how Scottish Rugby and the SRU works was always a key factor. Still think Ewen will either end the year as Wallabies coach or going back to France until the position opens up
 
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