Many, many scrums ago, when New South Wales were preparing for a match, tighthead prop Ewen McKenzie was given the nickname Link.
The moniker was meant to be disparaging, as in the missing link, even though it was conferred by a fellow member of the front-row club and current Wallaby
coach Eddie Jones.
"He was a mischievous little hooker who gave the name to me at training before a game against Auckland in about 1988, I think," McKenzie recalled.
"He kept at it, he thought it was pretty good and it has stuck since. I don't mind as it is pretty innocuous. Others have a lot worse."
The name has stuck. It seems to be more appropriate this season because McKenzie has discovered how the Waratahs can make a decent tilt at this Super 12 season.
For too long they have promised and not delivered, leaving themselves open to taunts like those from Xavier Rush that playing the Waratahs late in May had plenty of appeal.
In 2004, his first Super 12 year with the Waratahs, McKenzie was unable to inspire the side which ended in seventh place. But tonight as his side readies for their final pool match against the Blues in Sydney, the Waratahs are leading the competition.
How has the transformation occurred, what has McKenzie done to encourage the turnaround, is he the reason for the form reversal?
The 39-year-old father of three brought a tactical appreciation and extended playing knowledge from 51 tests with the Wallabies in the 90s.
A temperate man, McKenzie achieved a degree and worked in town planning for his local Sydney council.
His playing days done, Jones persuaded McKenzie to join him as an assistant coach with the Brumbies in 1999-2000, the Wallabies from 2000-2003, before he agreed to take over the Waratahs last year.
Former Wallaby and Waratah boss Bob Dwyer was adamant McKenzie would be respected by the players and that he would be a successful coach.
Like others before him McKenzie foundered at first, admitting some of his preconceived ideas about changing the Waratahs had failed.
"The trick though is to accept your failures, put your hand up and get on with it rather than blame others," he said.
McKenzie also nominated better recruitment, a graduated conditioning programme, delegation of duties for his expanded staff and using his rugby instincts as reasons behind the Waratahs' improvement.
Getting rid of longtime Waratah legend Matt Burke was a huge hurdle for McKenzie. He had played with, coached and been a good mate of the fullback who, until this year, held the points scoring record for the Super 12.
"It was a one-on-one conversation I did not enjoy," McKenzie confessed.
"I played with him and then I had to punt him.
"But you only get one crack at this coaching thing and you have to make some hard decisions. If I kept Burkey then maybe [Peter] Hewat would not have got the opportunities he has this year."
McKenzie went out to watch the club rugby scene, he searched for new players to increase the depth on the bench and the quality of competition within the squad.
A trip to Argentina last October allowed McKenzie to evaluate some younger talent, blokes like Hewat, Wycliff Palu, Will Caldwell and Lachlan MacKay, as a peep into the future.
The team stayed in two-star hotels and the coach watched how fringe players reacted to the tough environment and the group necessities.
Ditching Burke freed up some money to contract others while McKenzie said he liked to follow the ideas used by Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett.
"I have only met Bennett once or twice. He is not my mentor or anything like that but I read bits and pieces about him. I look into what he does and have found a model which works," McKenzie said.
"Ninety per cent of the problems are about recruitment and selection. Wayne Bennett likes to have five new guys coming in and he has to create space for them. it is a long-term model not a one-year wonder.
"If you keep the pathways blocked, young players will go elsewhere. I learned I had to be tougher."
McKenzie's plans have taken a hit or two this year though with five-eighths MacKay and young prop Gareth Hardy agreeing to join the Western Force in next year's Super 14 series.
The Waratahs coach thought the Blues were faced with similar issues.
"There are probably a lot of Aucklanders playing elsewhere. Some have been let go and while you do your best to be a crystal-ball gazer, it does not always work.
"I have got two eyes on this game against the Blues, nothing on the semifinals and an extra eye looking over my shoulder on what is happening with recruitment elsewhere," he said.
After last year's series and a disappointing finish, McKenzie worked on four or five key areas he had to address.
"I wanted to get ahead. It was no good just playing catchup," he said.
The recruitment, selection and training ideas sorted, McKenzie used a core leadership group - voted on by the players - to drive his squad.
Captain Chris Whitaker, Justin Harrison, Phil Waugh and Lote Tuqiri led honesty sessions where players owned up to mistakes or had a crack at team-mates.
"It is a case of give the players more responsibility rather than a case of player power," McKenzie explained.
"We also looked at our on-field playing strengths, what we were good at, and tried to play to those much more."
The Waratahs also moved their headquarters to Aussie Stadium (the old Sydney Football Stadium), where they tried to build a Waratahs fortress mentality, a siege mentality like Christchurch and Canberra.
McKenzie nominated the fulltime appointment of psychologist Phillip Fowler as another piece of his squad's rugby jigsaw.
"He has an open brief, he works on strategies, he can see a lot of circumstances and brings a tactical aspect to our game.
"It is psychology and sport meeting head-on."
Ewen McKenzie. Picture / Fotopress
Many, many scrums ago, when New South Wales were preparing for a match, tighthead prop Ewen McKenzie was given the nickname Link.
The moniker was meant to be disparaging, as in the missing link, even though it was conferred by a fellow member of the front-row club and current Wallaby
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