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Moments after confirming Ricky Stuart had stood down as Kangaroos coach for behaviour that “we just can’t condone”, Australian Rugby League chairman Colin Love left the door open for his return.
A “shattered” Stuart fell on his sword after a two and a half hour meeting at Sydney’s ARL headquarters on Monday.
He had endured two weeks of intense scrutiny over an abusive outburst at referee Ashley Klein and match officials director Stuart Cummings in a Brisbane hotel lobby the day after Australia’s shock Rugby League World Cup loss to New Zealand.
Although Love insisted Stuart wasn’t pushed, an Australian Rugby League (ARL) board meeting at Brisbane on Tuesday was expected to dump him.
Queensland coach and Stuart’s former Kangaroos teammate Mal Meninga is tipped to replace him.
Stuart was also fined $20,000 by World Cup organisers on Monday after they received a report by lawyer Robert Weber into the post-final dummy spit.
Weber’s report was damning, finding that Stuart had come into physical contact with Cummings and his abuse of both officials while not loud was “littered with profanities”.
“This conduct … could have adverse effect on the retention and recruitment of referees and it is something we just can’t condone,” Love said.
“(But) He wasn’t pushed – it was Ricky’s decision to go.
“Ricky has done the honourable thing … most people who know him know how passionate he is about the job and he is absolutely shattered.”
However, Love did not rule out Stuart returning to the Kangaroos fold.
“I would hate to think that this was a life suspension because I think that would be over the top,” he said of the Sharks coach.
But Australian World Cup assistant coach John Cartwright claimed Stuart was still the best man for the national job.
“It’s a sad day,” he told AAP.
“He made a mistake, he admitted his mistake. In the scheme of things we see a lot worse things in every day life.
“I think Ricky is the best man for the job.
“I think certain sections of the media have definitely made it hard for him to keep his job.
“Ricky is the sort of guy who will always say what is on his mind, and over the years he has probably trodden on some toes.
“It’s not to say what he did was right (but) it happened in the heat of the moment.
“The penalty that he had to pay far outweighs what he did.”
QRL boss Ross Livermore expected the Kangaroos job to be mentioned at the ARL meeting on Tuesday but did not expect a replacement to be announced until the New Year.
Stuart did not comment after leaving his meeting with Love but issued a statement.
“This has been the most difficult decision to make in view of the great honour and enjoyment that comes from coaching our national team,” he said.
“I believe that making this decision is in the best interests of the game and for me personally.
“In view of the circumstances it was the only decision.
“There are some elements of the fine that I could debate but in the best interests of the game it is time to move on and leave them unchallenged.”
Sydney Roosters’ Craig Fitzgibbon – who has played under Stuart at club and representative level – said the Australian players felt they had let their coach down.
“Ricky is a passionate guy and we feel we let him down against New Zealand so I am sure all the guys in the squad will be disappointed and sad for Ricky that he has opted to walk away,” he said.
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