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Coaching candidate drops Wallaby call after leak
By Online Editors
The Sydney Morning Herald's Georgina Robinson has reported that Rugby Australia have called off a scheduled phone call with former Springboks coach Jake White at the request of the latter.
It is understood that Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle complied with White's request after word of the call was leaked to the media.
White has reportedly offered his services to the struggling Wallabies side, as well as throwing his name into the ring for Japan head coach Jamie Joseph's role after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Rugby Australia's board and management are set to meet in early December to discuss incumbent head coach Michael Cheika's future with the national side after a horror four-win season.
Cheika's assistant coaches Stephen Larkham, Nathan Grey and Simon Raiwalui are also said to be under pressure.
Last month former Wallaby Michael Lynagh told RugbyPass he believes Michael Cheika is bulletproof heading into next year’s World Cup in Japan even if the Wallabies continue their poor record.
Lynagh said: “He will stay because a) there is nobody else and b)there is a financial issue that the ARU wouldn’t be able to meet. So, on both those fronts the logistics of trying to get rid of Michael are not right. You have to ask is Michael the right guy to take the team forward and for me that is the case.
Australian coach Scott Johnson has also been tipped as a potential replacement for Cheika. The 56-year-old last held a head coaching role in 2014 when he was the interim head coach of Scotland.
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Latest Comments
If a coach having Crusaders heritage is so sacrosanct, why did the Crusaders not pursue Vern Cotter as Scott Robertson’s replacement?
Go to commentsFinau is definitely operating on razor thin margins. He hasn’t done anything wrong… yet. But a player going into contact 6 inches lower than he is expecting, without him even knowing, will end in disaster. You can imagine a situation where the pass dies on Edmed and he has to bend down a little lower to catch it at the last second. Finau’s hit would have been catastrophic. The margins are just too fine. He needs to study how PSDT, at 6’7”, manages to drop his tackle height and exert just as much force with close zero danger of taking someone’s head off. Given how poorly NZ has adapted to lower their tackle height, and that this issue which has plagued the ABs for years and played a big part in them not winning the World Cup, I thought NZR and all SR coaches would be prioritising sorting this issue out. If I was Razor I would be on the phone to Clayton MacMillan and Samipeni Finau saying exactly that. Finau is a monster and shaping up to be the closest thing to Kaino since Kaino, but I wouldn’t risk selecting him for the ABs at the moment.
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