The Wallabies face the grim, unprecedented prospect of departing for a European tour without a coach following Ewen McKenzie’s sudden resignation.
McKenzie’s post-Bledisloe bombshell has rocked Australian rugby to its core, with a five-man ARU Rugby Committee now in a desperate four-day scramble to secure a replacement before the Wallabies leave for their five-week tour.
“At this point, I don’t even know who can get on a plane on Friday,” ARU chief executive Bill Pulver admitted in Brisbane.
NSW Waratahs coach Michael Cheika is understood to be the ARU’s No.1 target, but Pulver is – presumably – sweating on him breaking out of the final year of his contract with the Super Rugby champions in order to answer the Wallabies’ SOS.
It’s unlikely the ARU – and rival Australian Super franchises – would allow anyone to coach both state and country simultaneously, even with the next World Cup 11 months away.
South Africa’s 2007 World Cup-winning mentor Jake White – overlooked when McKenzie was appointed as Robbie Deans’ successor 15 months ago – is the other prime candidate.
White last week accepted a short-term advisory role with Tonga for their spring tour, but would likely be able to renege in favour of the Wallabies job.
Former Wallabies World Cup-winning back Rod Kafer is backing Cheika.
“There’s only one man for the job and that’s Michael Cheika,” Kafer told Fox Sports. “He’s the natural man to do it and has had great recent success.
“He is loved by the Waratahs players for the way he wants them to play the game.
“And the ARU have already been in contact with Cheika.”
Pulver on Sunday denied he’d spoken to any coach, and was unaware of any approaches from within his organisation.
Asked if Cheika was in the running, Pulver said: “All I can say is I’ve got a list of options in mind and I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The meticulous Cheika was planning a fact-finding mission to the United States this week in preparation for the Waratahs’ title defence.
Should he leave, the coaching upheaval would leave the Tahs in tatters less than four months before the start of the 2015 Super Rugby season.
Wallabies great Stephen Larkham is also viewed as a potential interim choice for the Spring Tour after taking the Brumbies to this year’s semi-finals.
Pulver said he tried to talk McKenzie out of his shock decision on Saturday morning, but the 49-year-old felt there was no way back after coming under intense heat over the past fortnight.
Despite McKenzie believing he’d lost the respect of his players, Wallabies captain Michael Hooper claimed there was no divide in the ranks and the coach still had dressing-room control.
Hooper said Australia’s gallant, after-the-siren 29-28 loss to the All Blacks proved the Wallabies were a united lot, the fallen coach included.
Saying the Wallabies had lost a great man, Pulver blamed sections of the media for assassinating McKenzie’s character in the extraordinary fallout from the Kurtley Beale-Di Patston texting scandal.
McKenzie – whose 15-month tenure ended with a win success rate just below 50 per cent from 22 Tests, but no wins from six cracks at New Zealand – said he would leave it to others to speculate why he so dramatically quit.
Australian selectors were scheduled to meet on Monday and announce their tour squad on Tuesday.
But Beale, to face a code-of-conduct hearing this week, won’t be with the squad when it assembles on Thursday before flying out for clashes with the Barbarians, Wales, England, France and Ireland.
