IT'S OFFICIAL: Jones' candidacy rocks rugby world

[gong_eagle]

http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2007/11/02/ITS_OFFICIAL_Jones_candidacy_rocks_rugby_world

Leading broadcaster Alan Jones may yet again take charge of the Wallabies.Jones, a former Grand Slam-winning Australian rugby coach, today announced he will be handing in an official coaching application to the Australian Rugby Union following the departure of John Connolly.
The influential media personality has been mulling over the decision as to whether to apply for the past two weeks, after Queensland Rugby boss Peter Lewis declared he should be the next national coach.
The ARU has scheduled interviews of all candidates for November 9 and is tipped to announce Connolly's successor by the end of the month.
The appointment was thrown wide open earlier in the week when widely favoured Crusaders mentor Robbie Deans announced he won't be pursuing the position, instead putting his hand up for the newly vacated All Blacks top job.
The remaining Australian applicants for the Wallaby post include Blues coach David Nucifora, Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher, Waratahs mentor Ewen McKenzie and Wallabies assistant coaches Scott Johnson and John Muggleton.
South Africa's World Cup winning mentor Jake White has also been linked to the role after standing down as Springbok coach, effective from December 31.
Alan Gaffney has more recently shot into contention after former Australian coaches Bob Dwyer and Eddie Jones threw their weight behind the 61-year-old coaching director from English club Saracens.
In the hours before the Jones' announcement, Lasseters Sportsbook betting agency had Jones posted as a seven to one chance of filling the role.
Nucifora remained the hot favourite paying $2.50.
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[NK Arsenal]

Alan Jones > Australian coach

 

[shiznit]

lol..... if Alan Jones can apply where the hell do i get my application form??

WTF?? why the hell would you want that dinosaur coaching your national side... does he even realise that we lift in the line-outs now???

 

[Twizzle]

but he said "last I checked there was still 15 players and only one ball"

its been so long thats the only thing that hasn't changed

 

[Seth Gecko]

I recon he's a good candidate. It's a huge transition time for Australian rugby. With the player base we have compared to England, SA and NZ, we've been batting waaay above our average for a long time on the back of class players. Alot of them are now gone. He can get the best out of people and maybe thats whats needed. It's not like he would be on his own. If he wins it they'd probably still have Scott Johnson, Muggleton and co supporting him. Why Not? Do something different. He won a grand slam and a Bledisloe and he could still be the man for 1 year. OK rugby has changed but the basics are the same and he wont be designing plays. Plus he'll be fulltime....... something he wasn't in the 87 world cup where training sessions were scheduled around his radio job.
I say why not? If not him then Scott Johnson.

 

[aussies1st]

The way he has pushed his case, it's got me interested. I believe he is right in a few departments. Get the flare back to the Wallabies and reduce the number of coaches.

I'd take either him or Nucifora. Johnson is still untried as headcoach and the others haven't tasted a Super 14 title.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Anyone else thinking that the Parrott just wants an excuse to hang around in the locker rooms after full time? Guess it's safer than public toilets....

 

[Stagger eel]

lol..... if Alan Jones can apply where the hell do i get my application form??

WTF?? why the hell would you want that dinosaur coaching your national side... does he even realise that we lift in the line-outs now???

no problem there...they lift in Ballet also.

 

[shiznit]

no problem there...they lift in Ballet also.

i take it that jones is into the Ballet??

bloody hell.... i dont think people that support him really realise what your actually wanting to do....

your wanting Jones to lead you into the RWC.... i dont even think the RWC was even created when he was coaching...

in the time that hes been out of the game the RWC has been created and since then is now a massive world event... the game has gone bloody professional FFS... you know your too f**king old when the other candidates were probably in school boys sides when you last coached....

 

[watatank]

your wanting Jones to lead you into the RWC.... i dont even think the RWC was even created when he was coaching...

in the time that hes been out of the game the RWC has been created and since then is now a massive world event... the game has gone bloody professional FFS... you know your too f**king old when the other candidates were probably in school boys sides when you last coached....

actually jones is only willing if he was offered a one year contract...

the game hasn't evolved that much really. the essense of the game is still about sticking to the basics, keeping possession, kicking for territory and looking to score on the back of set plays.

i think it would be worth going for jones...connolly didn't do an awful lot in his two years either. he took too long to experiment and when he did he still ended up sticking with the tried and tested team. jones will surely make changes to the team structure (that's coaching as well as players) and that's really what the wallabies need. if he fails he can step aside and let someone else have a go three years away from the next RWC...

 

[shiznit]

if Rod Macqueen considers himself out of the game too long to coach international football then Alan Jones has no chance....

mark my words.... if alan jones takes over the wobblies they will get smashed.... and more than likely embarresed.

he talks about the need for less coaches... if anything they need more. if i was the ARU i would throw as much money as possible and buy the all blacks scrum dr Mike Cron. he turned our scrum which was terrible into the best scrum in the world by a mile.... you fix that... you fix the wobblies...