Dave Rennie was replaced as Wallabies coach just eight months out from the World Cup. Photo / Getty
OPINION:
Test rugby continues to carve an increasingly cold-blooded ruthless path with Dave Rennie’s axing from the Wallabies claiming the third international head coach in the past five weeks.
Eight months out from the World Cup, one week after Rennie staged a Wallabies training camp on the Gold Coast, Rugby Australia followed Wales and England’s lead to break the traditional four-year cycle and detonate their head coach’s tenure.
Those cutthroat moves contrast New Zealand Rugby’s decision last August to backflip on the firm mood for change and instead retain faith in All Blacks coach Ian Foster and his rejigged coaching team through to the World Cup.
With freshly-installed mentors at the helm of England, Wales and Australia, the World Cup pits upheaval against continuity.
Eddie Jones, a matter of weeks after he was sacked by England, immediately returns to the coaching merry-go-round after being installed on a risky five-year deal with the Wallabies.
Jones is now set to lead the Wallabies in spicy Bledisloe Cup battles in Melbourne and Dunedin this year, starting in late July.
Rennie’s 38 per cent win record, and a maiden defeat to Italy on last year’s northern tour, paint an underwhelming picture of his three years leading the Wallabies. Yet his squad was decimated by injuries last year with influential midfielder Samu Kerevi, playmaker Quade Cooper and former captain Michael Hooper among a host of front-line players absent for extended periods.
But for French referee Mathieu Raynal’s controversial time-wasting decision in Melbourne, the Wallabies could have defeated the All Blacks last year. They also narrowly lost 13-10 to world No 1 Ireland in Dublin, and finished the season with a comeback victory over Wales.
Rennie remains a man steeped in humility and mana, particularly in New Zealand. He has been linked with a move to Japanese club Kobe, where Ardie Savea will spend one season after the World Cup, but could well feature on the radar for Kiwi Super Rugby teams in the coming years or possibly in the post-World Cup All Blacks coaching mix alongside Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown.
Rugby Australia quickly labelled Jones’ homecoming — 18 years after he was punted as Wallabies coach — a major coup. RA chairman Hamish McLennan called Jones the “best coach in the world”. He will need to live up to such lofty assertions to transform the Wallabies into the world-beaters Rugby Australia clearly expects.
In the wake of Jones’ appointment, and the inevitable extolling of his abilities, it’s worth noting not one Wallabies coach this century has emerged with an enhanced reputation.
Rennie, Michael Cheika, Ewen McKenzie, Robbie Deans, John Connolly, Jones in his first 2001-05 tenure, were all chewed up and spat out by a rugby system that festers with State self-interest, lacks player depth to sustain five Super Rugby teams and often carries unrealistic expectations on a global scale.
Rennie’s abrupt exit offers another lesson, too, for any New Zealand coaches pondering the Wallabies post in future of the unforgiving landscape Australians reserve for foreign mentors.
Jones is likely to spark a new bounce and improve the Wallabies in the short term. In many respects, history tells us that’s where his true value lies; as an experienced change manager who inspires rapid progression before those around him tire of his intensely demanding characteristics that includes calls and messages in the middle of the night.
Look no further than the litany of assistant coaches England churned through during Jones’ seven years in charge — a tenure that tailed off sharply in the last three years.
While the Wallabies prospects at the next World Cup could well improve, Jones’ promotion screams caution for the backend of his five-year deal when Australia will host the British and Irish Lions in 2025, and the global pinnacle event two years later.
The truth about the Wallabies is Jones cannot fix Australian rugby’s many underlying issues overnight.
In their haste to oust Rennie and install Jones on a long-term deal, Rugby Australia have left themselves exposed to landing in an all-too-familiar situation where a lack of succession planning forces them into another costly pay-out they can ill afford.
For an organisation in a dire financial state this move weighs more at the sugar hit than sustainable end of the scale.
Well before this year’s season kicks off, New Zealand Rugby have plenty to ponder in regards to appointing the next All Blacks coach. Three nations have gone early, leaving Crusaders coach Scott Robertson with Scotland and, possibly, Japan as realistic international alternatives to the All Blacks.
NZ Rugby indicated late last year it was favouring a decision pre-World Cup. Whichever way the board opts to go, this pressing issue cannot linger.