ARU boss Bill Pulver has confirmed former coach Robbie Deans would have been axed even if the Wallabies had won Saturday’s third Test against the British and Irish Lions.
Former Wallabies prop and current Reds coach Ewen McKenzie was officially unveiled as Dean’s successor in Brisbane on Tuesday.
The ARU released a statement on Tuesday morning saying Deans was ‘stepping down’, however Pulver revealed he first met with McKenzie about the Wallabies job five months ago as part of an extensive global search for a new coach.
He also confirmed interviews were conducted two weeks ago while Deans’ Wallabies were doing battle with the Lions, with McKenzie emerging and the preferred coach of the national team.
“Ewen has served what I think is the perfect apprenticeship preparing for this role,” Pulver, who praised Deans’ contribution to Australian rugby, told a packed press conference on Tuesday.
“He rates extremely highly against all the key criteria such as leadership, discipline, coaching capability and coaching record.
“He’s a past Wallaby himself having played 51 times for his country and arguably the most important variable of all is that Ewen has the capability of coaching the way the Australian public wants to see the game played, and that is smart, creative, running rugby.”
Asked if he would still be sitting at a press conference to unveil McKenzie if the Wallabies had beaten the Lions in the series decider, Pulver replied: “Yes we would.”
McKenzie thanked Pulver for the chance to guide the Wallabies and promised to strike a balance between results and entertainment over the next two-and-a-half years.
“I think Australian rugby from a cultural point of view has been at its best when skill is at the fore and we try and play intelligently,” McKenzie, who guided the Reds to the 2011 Super Rugby title, said.
“We’ve got to try and out think our opponents, and when those two factors are in play I think we’ve done our best work, and I’m talking over the last 30 or 40 years.
“I think we’ve got to make sure that that’s part of the process, in the end on a week-to-week basis you’ve got to find a way to win.
“… The week-to-week nature of Test matches gives you week-to-week opportunity to find different ways to win, so that’s an investment in skill, that’s an investment in intelligence but it’s also an investment grunt.
“You’re going to need grunt on certain days … so you need a team that can play for all occasions but I like the fact the Wallabies have been unpredictable and I like the fact the Wallabies have been successful when they’re skilful and I think they’re things that I think we need to have as a base approach.”
McKenzie, who expressed sympathy for Deans, will lead the Reds through the remainder of their Super Rugby campaign over the next two to four weeks before taking the Wallabies reins for the Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks on August 17.
He vowed to hit the ground running but insists he won’t make change for change’s sake, revealing he will assess all players in the coming weeks and will consider re-hiring the current Wallabies assistant coaches.
Article source: http://www.sportal.com.au/rugby-union-news-display/aru-confirm-deans-departure-242909
Rugby Union Lions series didn"t cost Deans
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