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In light of the fiasco playing out in the Wallaby management and squad this week and the general decline of the team, the question has to be asked: if another coach were in charge from now until the World Cup, would the team’s chances of winning be greater?
The answer would seem to be yes.
A second question inevitably follows: which coach would dramatically raise the team’s chances of succeeding?
Aside from having kept the team ranked second for most of his final period as coach for the Wallabies, Robbie Deans appears to stand the best chance of maximising the team’s potential.
He has coached them for several years and knows the players, the team’s strengths and weaknesses, and how they function against their regular adversaries better than anyone else. A different candidate would have to come new to the post.
Such a change would be a stop-gap measure. It wouldn’t mean the reinsertion of Deans permanently as coach, not least as he might wish to finish his time quickly to later coach the All Blacks. A successor may take Deans’ place immediately after the tournament, with a full four-year cycle to build a new team.
Deans would be on a one-year contract with the limited aim of winning the World Cup.
Such an aim is not to be disregarded. Even if it does not lead to the immediate further ascendancy of the team, it creates a vast wave of enthusiasm for the code in Australia. Indeed, it’s arguable that much of the high profile and growth of rugby in the early years of professionalism was simply a result of the vast excitement that came with taking the grand crown of the sport.
In business, finite managers are often brought in to quickly turn around failing companies, and this would be no different. It’s a short-term solution to a short-term project, which would not mean a continuation after its purpose was fulfilled. And that project is how to give the team the greatest chance of winning the greatest prize in the code.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.