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I want to explore a forgotten footnote in the ascension of Ewen McKenzie to the Wallabies head coaching position.
The media cycle is so short these days it’s sometimes hard to get perspective on what’s happening because so many other things take your attention between the beginning of a story and the end of it.
Ever since the final whistle blew on the Wallabies 41-16 series-losing drubbing at the hands of the Lions in Sydney, the defining story has been uncertainty about the near future of the Wallabies, particularly the coaching position.
Was Robbie Deans going to be sacked? But didn’t Bill Pulver say Deans would be allowed to see out the remainder of his contract?
Surely he’s gone; I heard a pop-physiologist say his body language at his post-game press conference wasn’t like his normal behaviour. That’s got to be a sign.
Jake White is the man. He’s a World Cup winning coach, has dealt with tumultuous political circumstances and might be able to finally pull the Wallabies together into a winning unit!
But Ewen McKenzie is a well-travelled rugby coach himself and he’s steered Australian players to the pinnacle of Super Rugby. He’s Australian too, did you hear? It’s great to have an Australian in charge of an Australian team. We love Australians!
Round it went until finally Deans was pushed from his post, clutching a beautiful, beautiful cheque, and made way for the next man to take the reins.
From the smoke at stage left stepped Ewen McKenzie.
Suddenly the story turned from the coaching position to McKenzie’s ability to instil discipline in a group of off-the-chain players and usher in an era of domination over the All Blacks.
It’s all happened so fast and has been almost impossible to keep up with. Every day there’s a new avalanche of mostly unimportant details or quotes that get blown up into stories and dominate discussion.
Here are two footnotes that get mentioned but not thoroughly explored.
Firstly, McKenzie didn’t want to coach the Wallabies in 2007 because he didn’t think he was ready.
Secondly, at the beginning of this year McKenzie announced he wouldn’t be coaching at the Reds beyond this year and promoted another coach to specifically take the role when he departed.
Those are two huge decisions to make.
The first one is a fairly humble one and to be fair has been mentioned somewhat but never lingered on.
Perhaps McKenzie was acknowledging the rest of the field in competition to take the Wallabies top job was better than he, but it was also admitting he understood there were aspects of his coaching and management needing work before he stepped up to that responsibility.
Not many people out there would have made that decision. It’s extremely hard to turn down a promotion, even for good reasons, to a job you’ve been aiming at for a number of years.
There is no real guarantee you’ll get to compete seriously for that kind of job again, and in 2011, when Robbie Deans’ contract was extended right after McKenzie won a championship with the Reds, he must have wondered when his turn would come.
The second point hasn’t rated much of a mention.
Back at the start of this year – or, more likely, whenever the Reds began negotiations to lure Richard Graham back from the Force – McKenzie essentially grabbed all his chips and pushed them into the middle of the table. Without looking at the flop.
Anyone who’s seen a shot of McKenzie on the sideline during a match knows he’s got a good poker face, but this was big.
“I am all in.”
McKenzie thought he was ready and the time was now.
He must have been a little wary of his decision once Jake White started his tenure at the Brumbies with such success.
How many times have you quit your job for one you previously turned down, that still has a person occupying that seat?
If McKenzie wasn’t successful in securing the Wallabies position the only possible outcomes were demoting.
He may have ended up at the Rebels, a team further off the pace than the one he inherited at the Reds, or the Waratahs.
Apparently he wasn’t really in consideration when the Ireland opening appeared earlier in the year, but he might have found another national side that could do with his services. Georgia is an up and comer.
Or he could have looked like a royal idiot and tried to stay with the Reds after setting up the next man for the job.
I know these are a couple of footnotes in the story, but his 2007 decision and the succession plan are the real beginnings of this story.
Amid the flurry of speculation about who he’ll pick and what culture he’ll build (not to mention a fairytale Super Rugby trophy is up for grabs) it’s worth considering that McKenzie went all in for the job of his life and came up trumps.
What a lucky, successful man.
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.