Rugby Australia urged to pounce on Leon MacDonald after shock exit from All Blacks

Former Wallabies centre Tim Horan has urged Rugby Australia to make a play for Leon MacDonald following his departure from the All Blacks.

On Thursday, New Zealand Rugby dropped a bombshell in announcing 46-year-old MacDonald was to leave his post as the All Blacks’ attack coach, after just five tests as part of Scott Robertson’s set-up.

Both NZ Rugby and Robertson himself stated MacDonald’s departure was due to a philosophical clash with the head coach, just months into a new World Cup cycle, albeit the move was mutually agreed upon.

Now, MacDonald will have to be patient in his wait for a new job, with all five Kiwi Super Rugby coaching roles currently filled, unless he wants to move abroad.

The Herald understands MacDonald turned down advances from Scotland to take charge after last year’s World Cup in France, and joined the All Blacks instead as part of Robertson’s support staff.

However, should MacDonald look for an opportunity closer to home, 80-test veteran Horan has outlined that Rugby Australia should not waste the opportunity to secure his services.

“It’s worth a phone call,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “If you are Joe Schmidt and you have been coaching colleagues in the past, it has got to be worth a phone call.”

“Even if it is not a fulltime coaching opportunity, it could be, ‘Come over, have a look, tell us what you see and what you think’. Leon may not be looking for another job, but he knows Joe well.

“The big challenge would be, given how much IP he has about the All Blacks, how much would he be prepared to give to the Wallabies?”

Schmidt himself is contracted through to the end of the 2025 season, after the Wallabies host the British and Irish Lions tour.

After that, Rugby Australia will need to look to finalise a new coach through to the end of the 2027 World Cup - which they will host - with Schmidt unlikely to commit due to family reasons.

MacDonald and Schmidt have worked together previously. In 2021, Schmidt was part of MacDonald’s support team at the Blues, where the team reached the Super Rugby Pacific final, before being beaten by the Crusaders at Eden Park.

In 2022, Schmidt joined the All Blacks, first in a consultancy role, before moving fulltime into Ian Foster’s support staff as they prepared for the 2023 World Cup in France.