The Australian Rugby Union is looking to appoint a technical director to the Wallabies to work with coach Michael Cheika in the World Cup campaign.
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Fairfax Media understands that while the role would be to act as a conduit between the ARU and Cheika, it would also involve being an adviser to the coach. The position would allow Cheika to get on with his job with limited interference from the top office; at the same time, the ARU would be briefed regularly about the team.
The potential candidates are not known yet, but could include those having important World Cup experience such as former Wallabies coaches Eddie Jones, Bob Dwyer and Rod Macqueen. The ARU plans to implement a full-time Wallabies management set-up soon, to better steer the team towards next year's World Cup in Britain.
The Wallabies leave for their five-game spring tour of Europe on Friday afternoon with a revamped staffing line-up under Cheika, styled primarily for the short term. Since Ewen McKenzie quit as coach last Saturday after the Wallabies' loss to the All Blacks, the ARU has not had time to pick a new long-term management team.
It still plans to appoint a full-time manager, but the technical director's role would be crucial as they would need to have the coach's trust, more so in the case of Cheika, who will still be coaching the Waratahs next season.
Cheika is adamant that the team has as little interference from the top as possible. He made that clear when he joined the Waratahs as head coach two years ago, and again at Thursday's announcement of his Wallabies job.
Sitting next to ARU chief executive Bill Pulver, he said: "I wouldn't be scared to say if I thought there was something I thought was going to be for the betterment of the team, we could have a rumble about it."
The ARU also needs more insight into the Wallabies' operations, having been caught out by some recent off-field events.
The duties of the new technical director would be many and varied. The role would also involve monitoring the performance of players throughout the Super Rugby competition, and that of opposition players around the world.
Additionally, the technical director would provide performance reports, and in the case of Australian players, a weekly Wallabies selection based on those performances, which can be drawn on for the Rugby Championship and eventually the World Cup
This would help Cheika focus on coaching the Waratahs without running the risk of being distracted by selections. It would also reassure the ARU and rugby stakeholders that selections are being made by someone not aligned to a Super Rugby franchise.
Jones, who coached the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney, held a similar position at the Springboks coached by Jake White in the 2007 World Cup. The Springboks went on to win the final and Jones was highly commended for his input.
His availability for this possible Wallabies opening would also hinge on his commitments in Japan, where he is coaching the national team.
