Waugh defends Wallabies coaching handover after dismal run
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh has defended his decision to delay the appointment of Les Kiss as national coach after the Wallabies slumped to their ninth defeat in 10 Tests under outgoing mentor Joe Schmidt.
Saturday’s match against Italy in Perth was Schmidt’s 31st and final Test in charge of Australia. This defeat will be his 20th defeat and will drop his success rate to 35.48 percent; this is the lowest level of any Wallabies coach in the professional era.
Kiss was among the fans at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last Saturday, where Australia lost 42-26 to France, but Waugh said the former Reds coach was actively involved with the team outside of matchdays. Kiss will take charge of the Wallabies ahead of the Test against Japan on August 8.
“We are extremely confident in the process we have in place and the orderly, disciplined transition we will undergo,” Waugh said.
“HE [Kiss] has been in and around the group for a long time; He was involved in all our contract negotiations. He participated in election debates. Les was heavily involved in and around the group and in and around the coaching group.
“Part of the plan was just that, for him to be in and around the group and training, but when we get to game day and game day, it’s Joe’s team and Joe leads the team.
“We don’t need the players to look at the new coach and think about what will happen in two weeks. You have to leave it at this moment. Joe is the boss, Joe is the coach and everyone is very, very clear on that.”
Despite their poor form, the Wallabies have sold out stadiums in Sydney and Brisbane for the Tests against Ireland and France. Waugh believes progress is being made but acknowledges that results need to be monitored.
“As I always say, when I play, anyone can wear the gold jersey, but ultimately when you wear the gold jersey you have a responsibility to deliver and you have a responsibility to win Test matches for the Australian people,” he said.
“I now have a responsibility to the Australian public to put the sport of rugby in the best position possible and so I absolutely understand the expectations the Australian public has for our gold medal teams and the expectations that we need to win.
That’s why I don’t think anyone will shy away from it. “As we know, this is ultimately a results business, and we understand that we need to shift the needle on the win-loss ratio, which will be the real accelerator in terms of engagement with the community.”
Ahead of the World Cup, the Wallabies’ depth remains an issue despite Schmidt making 24 Test appearances during his time in charge.
The loss of Ben Donaldson and Carter Gordon to calf injuries has left Schmidt relying on Test debutant Declan Meredith to start at five against France despite having just 18 games of experience in the position for the Brumbies in Super Rugby. Jock Campbell was Meredith’s reserve cap despite never starting in the number 10 jersey in professional rugby.
Donaldson has trained in Perth and is hopeful he will be fit for the Italy Test.
Waugh said the selection policy prioritizing players in Australia would continue but this could be “fluid” if needed for key positions.
“There’s no doubt some countries have a lot more depth than we do, so we need to make sure we do everything we can to ensure our best players are fit, available and ready to win Test matches,” Waugh said.
“Going into the World Cup, there’s an element of luck you need in terms of player availability and your best players being fit. The nature of our depth, that’s not as strong as others.”
“I think we’ve always said that our priority is players living in Australia, for reasons we’ve explained before. But if there’s a compelling enough reason to entertain the conversation about expanding the number, [of overseas polayers] “If there’s something we’ve chosen historically, then that’s going to be a conversation that we’re going to explore.”
Despite the Wallabies’ poor recent performance, Waugh is confident they can lift the Webb Ellis Cup in Australia in 2027.
“Definitely [the Wallabies can win]”But obviously there are a lot of variables that could happen between now and then.”
