Ireland legend and La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara has expressed his interest in becoming the next Wallabies boss after Joe Schmidt’s future was confirmed.
It was announced on Thursday that Schmidt has extended his deal beyond the conclusion of the British and Irish Lion series, but that he would be stepping down after the Rugby Championship.
Rugby Australia (RA) are therefore on the lookout for a new head coach and O’Gara has already thrown his hat into the ring.
In a text message to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Ireland great wrote: “Yes. Keen. Be a great team to work with.”
O’Gara’s Test rugby hopes
O’Gara has made no secret in his desire to step up to international rugby after his impressive stint in charge of La Rochelle.
Under the 47-year-old, the French outfit claimed back-to-back Champions Cup titles in 2022 and 2023, achievements which have put him in the frame for the top jobs.
He is contracted at the Top 14 outfit until 2027 but the former fly-half could well have a break clause which allows him to leave should an enticing Test job comes along.
In December, O’Gara effectively ruled out coaching Wales, stating that he would “prefer Ireland, England or France”, but admitted that, as well as those aforementioned trio, there were other international gigs which could take his fancy.
“You have got to have those ambitions, I think, because you want to be the best you can be,” he said. “There are Test jobs I would bite people’s hands off for. That usually works itself out if you are good enough at your club.”
That evidently includes the Wallabies, who have begun their search for the next head coach. There are options within the country, with Super Rugby bosses Les Kiss, Dan McKellar and Stephen Larkham heavily linked.
Michael Cheika, who was in charge of Australia between 2014 and 2019, is another potential candidate after Leicester Tigers confirmed he would be leaving the English Premiership club midway through 2025.
Overseas appointment?
However, Rugby Australia have admitted that they could once again look abroad, despite it attracting criticism in the past, potentially putting O’Gara in the frame.
The appointments of New Zealanders Robbie Deans and Dave Rennie did not work out, but Schmidt has shown that it can pay dividends if the Wallabies’ improvement in 2024 is anything to go by.
According to RA chief executive Phil Waugh, the current head coach will be playing a role in who succeeds him leading into the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
“We need to keep the same level of progression that we see in the Wallabies environment and I think that’s been largely driven by the culture that’s been created by both Joe and his coaching team,” Waugh told the Herald.
“And if the best candidate to continue that trajectory is an overseas candidate then we’ll be making the right choice for the players’ development.
“You look across our high-performance team and [director of high performance] Peter Horne, who is clearly well-connected internationally and domestically around rugby, about who is in the market and who are the best operators, and then you’ve got Joe Schmidt, who’s travelled the world and been a world leader in his field for many years now.
“So clearly we’ll discuss and ask for his guidance and counsel at the appropriate time, but it certainly won’t be putting unnecessary pressure on Joe, given that he’ll have his job to complete as we go through the Lions series and the Rugby Championship.”
READ MORE: Ronan O’Gara would ‘bite people’s hands off’ for a Test gig as he makes his position on Wales clear
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/ronan-ogara-makes-stance-on-wallabies-role-crystal-clear-as-rugby-australia-begin-search-for-joe-schmidts-successor
