Rugby Australia: No guarantees on Cheika

Employment contracts almost always have a way for the employer to terminate the contract early. Cheika was not so dominant in negotiations then I believe even RA would have negotiated a contract where they had to pay punitive damages to Cheika if they cancelled the contract early.

Nope. The Wallabies' three biggest problems are (1) selections, (2) poor defence stemming from poor selections and a poor defensive structure and (3) set piece. Larkham would at the very least address them based on his coaching at the Brumbies.

Cheik gone is absolutely the right call. Larkham as replacement is not my preference. Simply a the cheapest option that is better than the incumbent situation. Pay for an international coach RA.

Either way I read a rumour that will make CB happy. Cheika gone by Christmas, which would make us all happy and Larkham as replacement which will worry some of us. But apparently they are talking to other options (perhaps sharing the hesitation on Larkham).

I'm not criticizing people for it. Coaching is a high stress job. You can't do it forever. They need to build up a decent nest egg and move to something else for their health.

Sorry yes. We could. Because the view we can't do worse is just blatantly incorrect.

Depends a lot on the contract. Contracts for employment are a different beast and will often have specific provisions for termination.

i am not sure if any of those guys ( and a hell of a lot more coaches from NZ ) "purely chase the money". what is a known fact is that most countries and clubs do pay more than what is paid in NZ. and its a a simple logic IMO. there are basically 3 jobs at the top - coach , assistant and assistant to the NZ all blacks. then the next tier is super rugger - which has 15 spots the next tier is Miter 10 sides - 14 teams and say 42 positions. obviously the money will get less as you go down the pyramid. so for many it is a no brainer to go abroad as a club coach and earn more money doing more or less a simillar / parallel job. latest to leave is Brad Mooar from crusaders at the end of 2019 season. but there is an obvios difference between England and NZ. very good English coaches are saying no to the national job. Rob Baxter has already said no - and there is talk Lancaster will most likely go to Irish team. Gustard gave up team assistant position to become a club coach. so IMO the conventional wisdom says there may not be lot of club coaches of repute willing to consider coaching aussy team. of course - u may be able to entice someone like Thorn or GIbson , but i doubt someone like jamie Joseph or Warren gatland will put his hat into the search.

Spot on Jon. The waist of money on Hooper's contract blocking the path of new backrow options beggars belief. Contracts at this level have to be performance based whether it be Players, Coach etc. The gravy train will soon end if Wallaby results remain as they have since 2016. Sydney centric RA has to change. We need professionalism that is not region ally biased nor old school mentality with jobs for the boys. Accountability is critical for any organisation and sponsors will expect it. What's more RA need to back Rugby's grassroots rather than chasing NRL mercinaries. Build a Coaching and player development program that respects Rugby add skills and playing strategies and rewards that development. Player power/ego needs to be put back in its box as does individualism that caused the demise of Mackenzie. Oh to entice Ewen back. The NZ philosophy of the collective of the team is greater than individual selected superstars had to be embraced.

You would have said the same in 2014, or with the Boks in 1994.

What could he have said that would have partially satisfied the media (by giving then a story) and the rugby public (by giving them an accurate and transparent explanation of the situation) and treating both the media and public with respect? Rugby Australia place significant weight on the opinions expressed in the media, the rugby public and other stakeholders and have taken notice that the performance of the Wallabies in the recent year has not met the expectations of the rugby public. Rugby Australia also considers the test results and performance of the Wallabies over the past year as not only disappointing but also unacceptable. However the way forward is not clear yet and we want to ensure that as we want to make sure that the changes we make will be to the long term benefit of rugby. The board have decided that due to the gravity of the decision so close to the RWC 2019 that we would follow an thorough process lead by myself to gather the opinions and perspectives from a broad range of stakeholders in rugby including our respective unions (including WA), the Wallaby players and players unions, respected Wallaby coaches and our sponsors. Today's meeting was one of these engagement processes where we provided the Wallaby coach, Michael, the opportunity to share his perspectives, his insights as well as the recommended path towards the RWC 2019 and beyond. He has surely given us some important material to reflect upon. We recognise that some in the media and rugby public would liked this decision to be made earlier and that we may disappoint their expectations. However we are not yet in the position to make a quality decision and therefore decided to consult broader and expect that we will be in a position to make a quality decision within two weeks. Thank you for your ongoing support of the Qantas Wallabies and Australian Rugby, also thank you for raising your concerns.

and there is the problem - having to be signed up to a Super Rugby franchise to get selected for the Wallaby team means that you are rejecting 80% of the talent who might just surprise people ..... given the fact that the the people being selected for Super Rugby may not actually be the best in their position in Australia anyway. NZ recognised more than ten years ago that avoiding club rugby and paving a road through sporting institutes & rugby academies is not the best way to develop talent and is a flawed approach to development. Hopeless unconsciously incompetent board who all should have been sacked for non performance and zero return to the shareholders ...... meaning you and me the the rusted on rugby supporters that have played trained and watched for the last 50 years .

'We would win 0 from 13 under him'. I suppose that was meant to read 'could'? For it is incorrect to say that we 'would', but we very certainly 'could'. I happen to think that we would probably improve under Larkham as he cares more about set piece, defence and playing players in correct positions than Cheika, who has seemingly lost the plot entirely.

Clearly there is more to it. The fact that the CEO was not prepared to face the media and that the RA Board could only agree on a very limited message delivered by one of the most hated men in Rugby. I would not be surprised if the Board is severely divided and now even more dysfunctional than in the past - but that is all speculation from my side

How was the Brumbies input by Larkham? He is so experienced! Not!

You sound like Clyne - negative!

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Realistic chance to win a World Cup. Which Team Fionn? If you mean the Wallabies, you should really do stand-up comedy. Even with a new Coach and proper selections, the chance is not "realistic". It is a slim possibility as it is a knockout comp after the pool and anything can happen. But would I put money on them? No! Realistic means a chance on which one is prepared to place a bet of winning. Not for 2019!

To say a group stage exit is likely is completely ludicrous. It would require a loss to Fiji. The Wallabies last lost to them in 1954 and have won every clash since 1961. Fiji look to be in decent form after beating France in 2018 and Scotland in 2017, but in past periods they've also drawn with and beaten Wales and beaten Scotland and still we have had no troubles defeating them, so it's hardly unprecedented for them. Sure it's less of a sure thing than it has been in the past. But to say likely is utterly stupid and hyperbolic.