The NSW Rugby Union is set to release Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie after this season.
You called for it. Do you agree this was the right decision?
The decision is not unexpected with rumours circulating that McKenzie’s position was under fire for most of the season. Blues coach David Nucifora has also been linked to the role.
While the Waratahs are still in semi-finals contention after four wins from six games, they have not impressed.
With crowd numbers well down, NSWRU had been seeking a more expansive style of play which McKenzie has struggled to deliver.
Despite being the biggest union in Australia, NSW have been underachievers at the Super 12/14 level, failing to win a title since the inception in 1996.
According to the NSWRU. McKenzie and NSWRU Chief Executive Officer Jim L’Estrange reached an amicable agreement yesterday about the Head Coaching role.
“Ewen’s situation does not change for the rest of the Super 14 season, we still have a competition to win and we are right in the mix,” said L’Estrange.
“We are absolutely committed to Ewen finishing the job this season.
“Put simply Ewen has had five great years with the Waratahs and this decision allows both Ewen and NSW Rugby to move forward from a strong foundation.”
NSWRU Chairman Arvid Petersen underscored the legacy that McKenzie will leave behind since taking over the Waratahs after the 2003 Rugby World Cup when he was Assistant Coach of the Wallabies.
“Ewen’s impact on the Waratahs and the game in NSW has been dramatic,” added Petersen.
“There was a strong cultural shift under his leadership. One that that ended a long standing losing streak to the Reds in Super Rugby, broke new ground by beating the Brumbies in Canberra and saw the Waratahs reach the Final in 2005 and semifinals the following year.
“Off the field Ewen has been instrumental in getting back to the clubs, designing the IBM Centre (NSWRU new headquarters), adding structure to the professional game and promoting the team through the media and corporate business.
“He has served NSW well over a long period in coaching terms and we wish him well in the next phase of his career.”
McKenzie was typically pragmatic following the agreement not to renew his contract past this season.
“Jim and I have been talking for some time about the future and we had a really good meeting yesterday and I’m satisfied that we can both now move ahead,” said McKenzie.
“We told the team before training yesterday, then went right on with the job preparing for Auckland.
“In an ideal world you’d like to go on and on but this is professional sport and I’ve been in the job longer than anyone else so I’ve had a good innings.
“The good thing about this announcement today is that it puts to bed the innuendo in the press that has unfairly distracted the team for weeks.
“Now we can concentrate on playing Rugby.”
McKenzie’s most satisfying moments involve development and the creation of Wallabies.
“I was only looking at a photo of the 2004 development tour squad the other day and it amazed me to see how many of those players went on to play Super Rugby and Test football,” McKenzie reflected.
“The likes of Al Kanaar, Wycliff Palu, Cameron Shepherd, Benn Robinson and Lachlan MacKay have gone on to become Wallabies – that’s very satisfying.
“I’m also proud to see the likes of Rocky Elsom, Stephen Hoiles, Sam Norton-Knight, Brett Sheehan, Leroy Houston and Tatafu Polota-Nau all pull on the gold jersey during my time here.”
McKenzie, who lost just two Super Rugby matches against the other Australian sides during his reign, said he is now free to pursue other opportunities but not before completing his 2008 mission.
“We’re giving this comp a real crack and I don’t mind being underdogs,” McKenzie said.
“I want to move on from this announcement and get stuck into the Blues this weekend. This is a big game for the Tahs but it’s just as big for the Blues so you’ll be missing something special if you’re not at the SFS on Saturday.”
NSWRU CEO Jim L’Estrange said the search for a coach in 2009 has begun with a result expected at the end of April.
“Today is all about Ewen and his legacy so I don’t want to go into detail about the recruitment of a new coach other than to say the process is underway,” added L’Estrange.
“I am engaging several Rugby experts, former Wallabies and coaches in the process before making a recommendation to the Board of NSW Rugby before the end of the month.
“As Ewen’s contract is up this year, numerous applicants have been proactive in lodging expressions of interest and we will be making our way through them in the coming weeks.
“Due to the uneven global season many of these coaching decisions cannot wait until the end of competitions.”
© AAP 2012Ewen McKenzie – Coaching Career
HSBC Waratahs Head Coach 2004-2008
· Super 12 Final 2005
· Super 14 Semifinal 2006
· Overall Record – 72 Matches*: Won 41*, Lost 30, Drawn 1
· Super Rugby – 57 Matches*: Won 31*, Lost 25, Drawn 1
· Super Rugby v Australian Teams – 11 Matches: Won 8, Lost 2, Drawn 1
* NSW RecordAustralia A Head Coach 2005
Wallabies Assistant Coach 2000-2003
· 2000 Bledisloe Cup & Tri Nations
· 2001 Bledisloe Cup, Tri Nations & Lions Series
· 2003 Rugby World Cup FinalACT Brumbies Assistant Coach 1999-2000
· Super 12 Final 2000Coaching Career Highlights
· Super 12 Semi Finals 2005, 2006
· Super 12 Final 2006
· Reintroduction of Development Tours to South America (2004), Eastern Europe (2005), United Kingdom and Ireland (2006)
· Concept and design of new NSWRU Headquarters, the IBM Centre, including the HSBC Waratahs High Performance Centre
· Most matches as HSBC Waratahs Head Coach (overall and Super Rugby)
· Most wins as HSBC Waratahs Head Coach (overall and Super Rugby)Playing Career Highlights
· Rugby World Cup winner 1991
· 51 Wallaby Caps (equal highest for an Australian prop)
· 37 NSW Caps (1987-1995)
· 31 ACT Caps (1996-1997)
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April 1st 2008 @ 11:52am
sheek said | April 1st 2008 @ 11:52am | Report comment
It seems to me Robbie Deans is a successful coach because he doesn’t over-complicate rugby. He doesn’t pretend that rugby is any more, or any less than what it is, a game.
Be fit, be fast, be strong, get the basics right, & support your team-mates in attack & defence. Essentially, rugby is a team game requiring support of your team-mates. The subtleties of rugby may change over time, but not the basics. In 2008, as in 1908, you need to be fit, physically hold your own, have good basics & support your team-mates. This fact hasn’t changed in 100 years.
League super-coaches Jack Gibson & Wayne Bennett won’t use 20 words to describe what they want their players to do, when 5 words will suffice. Both coaches actually give their players few instructions other than get the basics right, & trust their intuition.
Gibson had a famous instruction – “go where the seagulls are”. In other words, the seagulls concentrate on the part of the field where humans aren’t, or where the opposition defenders aren’t concentrated. Basic, but effective.
Ewen McKenzie, by contrast, seems to over-complicate things. McKenzie, it appears, is trying to cater for too many contingencies with the result that, in the end, he caters for no contingencies. Then there is the flawed thinking with his scrumhalves.
Sheehan is tough, but lacks pace & a quick pass. He plays like an extra forward, which might suit the Bulls of South Africa, but not the Waratahs. With the backline at his disposal, McKenzie ought to be playing either Burgess or Valentine, a fact he appears to have been slow to realise. Both Burgess & valentine are quick from the scrumbase, with a quick pass as well.
McKenzie was a great tight-head for the Wallabies, one of our very best ever. Unfortunately, as a head coach, he falls short.
On a wider scale, there is a shortage of clever, talented coaches in Australia. The fact there is no national comp, is contributing to this problem. Sorry, couldn’t resist throwing the national comp in there!
April 1st 2008 @ 11:56am
LeftArmSpinner said | April 1st 2008 @ 11:56am | Report comment
Look waht happened at the Roosters last season. They transformed immediately. Sure, NRL is an easier game to coach and play but the coach of any sporting team has the position and authority (if used competently) to make fundamental improvements to that team immediately. He also has the benefit of a honeymoon period in which he can blame the previous regime for the problems.
April 1st 2008 @ 11:58am
sheek said | April 1st 2008 @ 11:58am | Report comment
Joe Blow,
What might McKenzie contribute to the HPU that he has failed to demonstrate with the Waratahs? I think McKenzie would make a fantastic national scrum coach. After all, that’s his area of specialised expertise.
But I don’t think McKenzie possesses the breadth & depth of knowledge of all facets of rugby play, or perhaps the ability to clearly articulate same, to be in charge of the HPU.
Some people have the knowledge, but don’t know how to impart it so that the message is received. Others might have less knowledge, but are better at getting across what they do know.
April 1st 2008 @ 12:15pm
mudskipper said | April 1st 2008 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
In a couple of weeks McKenzie may well choose to step side and take on other opportunities allowing Louden take full control….After this weekend the Waratahs only have two home games left to cash up at the turnstiles, the Lions and the Sharks. I can’t see the Tahs getting a home semi this year. Prior to the Lions match would be the right time for Louden to take over as head coach. It should be an easy win for the Waratahs and would provide a quick positive transition for the new coaching era.
Its tough being a coach…Waratahs desperately need their fans to believe again
April 1st 2008 @ 2:32pm
Ben C said | April 1st 2008 @ 2:32pm | Report comment
We all saw it coming but it is tough to be told the contract is up midseason so Ewen is left as a ‘dead man walking’ for the next few weeks. He is a decent guy and although I thought his time was up, his departure could have been handled more tactfully by the NSWRU.
That said, he had to go. In five years we only got to the semi-finals twice. A forty percent return is not good given that with the size of our player base we should be consistently the most succesful Australian province. (I don’t mean to denigrate the other Australian teams but even if other teams are better in some years, NSW’s size means it should be the most successful team more often than any other team. To be fair, NSW’ underperforming is a trend that long predated Ewen’s tenure).
Ewen did have some notable acheivements like the 05 and 06 campaigns, finally beating Queensland in Super rugby and beating the Brumbies at home. Unfortunately Ewen focused too much on conservative play and winning by trying not to lose. Winning attracts fans only if you always win and no-one wins all the time (except the Crusaders – hopefully Deans can bottle that mojo for the Wallabies). Fans will accept a loss if you look like you are trying to win rather than simply trying not to lose. This is a subtle but important distinction that Ewen seemed, to his downfall, never to grasp.
Hopefully the next appointment will be transparent rather than a political bloodbath behind closed doors. Unfortunately the bloodbath option seems to be the default position for Australian rugby politics, particularly in NSW. I wonder about Louden as he has limited head coaching experience so I would like to see Scott Johnson given a run, if only to liven up the press conferences. His poxy little island put down of New Zealand is a classic and much more assuming than Ewen’s regular articles.
April 1st 2008 @ 2:34pm
Blinkey Bill - Bellingen NSW said | April 1st 2008 @ 2:34pm | Report comment
Shame about McKenzie but sadly he fell short of what was needed to take NSW all the way. Whether this was his fault entirely or interference by others in the chain of command, we will probably never know for sure. But what we do know is that the buck stops with the Head Coach and that’s him.
Sheek – I’m with you about the need to keep Rugby simple. Too many tactics and too much confusion at least that’s how the Waratah players looked to me. I reckon Ewen failed to simply work out what winning style of play (based on our strenghts & weaknesses) best suited the Waratahs and then implement it. Instead he went all too clever dicky trying to work out the opposition weaknesses, which is of course a good thing, and then forgot about imposing our style on the opposition.
But a question on replacements – Why would Nucifora even want the Waratahs gig?
Sheehan – There’s much to like about this fiesty character but to me he is just far too predictable, in that he will mostly back himself. So he needs to mix his options better to keep opposition in two minds. He is probably playing better than the other two NSW 1/2 backs because of the extra game time he receives. I’d like to see more of Valentine & in particular Burgess.
Perhaps now that the s*#t has hit the fan Ewen can relax about his future and do what he always should have done namely improve skill levels, keep it simple & instill a willingness for players to back their mates.
April 1st 2008 @ 2:35pm
Ben C said | April 1st 2008 @ 2:35pm | Report comment
I meant it was an amusing putdown rather than an assuming putdown.
April 1st 2008 @ 3:51pm
LeftArmSpinner said | April 1st 2008 @ 3:51pm | Report comment
Gentlemen,
My preference is to see what Louden can offer on an interim basis while courting others. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain by showing us what he can get the team to do.
Now is the time to be bold with strategy and selections: New coach, fresh sheet of paper for everyone, new self belief, the joys of the running game with young guns to implement it – A very potent combination, particularly as they plenty of games to get it happening. Queensland did it, and with supposedly inferior cattle, at least on paper!!
If it were me, I would have ONE team meeting where the group are able to offer suggestions and tactics, and where they are given authority and responsibility for on field play for the rest of the season. Yes, coach sets the overall game plan, but players implement and interpret it with confidence and freedom and, most importantly, with an understanding that mistakes will happen, but that is okay as long as they dont repeat the mistakes.
Pretty exciting really!! Given the age of the backs, this could be the makings of a NSW dynasty, the likes of the Brumbies or the Sydney Kings or Crusaders or Aussie cricket or netball teams.
But you have to grasp the nettle.
April 1st 2008 @ 3:59pm
ROB said | April 1st 2008 @ 3:59pm | Report comment
True that the Head Coach must take responsibility. I heard a story that Chris Hickey was in a good position to take on the Force but because he wanted to have his own assistants not those appointed for him , he missed out on the job. Is this a fate Mckenzie faced or for that matter his successor? I think there should be a clean sweep including all academy coaches trainers, selectors etc. Has Louden improved the attack of the Tahs?
Left arm spinner talked about the work rate of the forwards. Tight 5 forwards are selected on their running skills–thats all. If you dont have astute selectors watching the tight 5 it is easy to fall into the trap of only seeing what happens out in the open . Rugby is a game where the tight 5 can hide and it takes a knowledgeable person to pick out the workers from the show ponies. For whatever reason NSW and for that matter Aust rugby over the last 10 years have forgotten to recognise those unsung workhorses of the game. That is why we are going backwards.And if any of you think we have been making progress sit with the average punters at the SFS and hear their frustration
April 1st 2008 @ 5:20pm
Dexter William said | April 1st 2008 @ 5:20pm | Report comment
Great discussions Guys.
I do not know EM personally, but I can sympathised with his predicament. He came to the job because the Tahs needed to improve 5 years ago. Did he improve it? Some say two semis and one final is not a bad record. Like wise on paper I would have to agree. But can you remember why we were playing away in NZ for the final? It is because strategically EM did not get the bonus point that would guarantee the home final. We were there with20 or so minutes left with 3 tries already on the scorecard. We had penalty within the 22, and instead of going for the try Whitaker resorted to the 3 points which meant nothing.
EM mentally on winning ugly has gone too deep into everyone’s bone in the team. And when we played the final, we kept playing the kicking game seeking territory and hoping for mistakes from the other team. Playing “not to lose rugby” was his motto even back then.
Sheek, what are you thinking (you said): “I think McKenzie would make a fantastic national scrum coach. After all, that’s his area of specialised expertise.”
No Sheek, I do not know what you are talking about here. How has the Tahs scrum improved under EM? Dunning is as useless as he has ever been and Baxter just haven’t hit the straps like he should be by now.
I reckon that it is good for the Tahs to have a spring cleaning and get rid of everyone in management and coaches. They can of course reapply for their position, but only after the coach has been appointed and that he must give the thumps up to each applicant.
Don’t know about the politics which will be a big factor that will dictate appointments, but here are a few I like to see:
Rod Kafer for coach or be given the HP manager role.
Scott Johnson
Pat Howard
Nucifora should try to keep coaching in NZ for at least two seasons, and prime himself to take over from Deans after 2011. To give him the Tahs job is going backwards I believe.