The battle for the vacant Wallabies coaching role is set to be a race between the past two ACT Brumbies coaches as Dan McKellar and Stephen Larkham emerge as the leading contenders.
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The position opened up after Eddie Jones resigned on Sunday night following a tumultuous 10 months in his second stint in charge.
The Wallabies won just two of nine games this year, against tier two nations Georgia and Portugal, and made a historic group exit at the World Cup.
Speculation has swirled for weeks over Jones' future and despite assurances earlier this month that he was committed to the job, the coach will walk away from the role.
McKellar was anointed former coach Dave Rennie's successor when he left the Brumbies to join the Australian setup full-time last June, however that quickly changed when the New Zealander was dumped in January.
Jones' return triggered an overhaul of the coaching staff and McKellar left to become the head coach at Leicester.
Larkham also has experience as a Wallabies assistant from 2015 to 2019.
Since then, the ACT legend spent three seasons coaching Munster in Ireland before returning home to lead the Brumbies from the start of the 2023 Super Rugby campaign. The franchise won't stand in his way if he is to pursue the Australian job.
![Current Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham and former coach Dan McKellar have emerged as leading contenders to replace Eddie Jones as Wallabies coach. Pictures by Gary Ramage and Keegan Carroll Current Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham and former coach Dan McKellar have emerged as leading contenders to replace Eddie Jones as Wallabies coach. Pictures by Gary Ramage and Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GzY3iczng7SLWqVgHSV78t/fa208176-8cdb-42d7-8e88-b2a193a3fdbe.png/r0_0_1200_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Former Brumbies and Wallabies assistant coach Laurie Fisher worked under both McKellar and Larkham throughout his time at the club and said McKellar's vast experience has prepared him to make the transition to the Test arena as a head coach.
"We need to employ the best Australian coach," Fisher said. "Dan is certainly in my mind and gained a lot of experience over the last four or five years.
"He's capable over the next four-year period to grow the performances on the field, to be a uniting force among the provincial teams and to be a leader across Australian rugby."
Larkham and McKellar have been contacted for comment.
Fisher believes the highest qualified Australian should be employed to coach the Wallabies, however, there is a lack of depth in the country's coaching ranks.
McKellar has the most experience, with Larkham still relatively early in his coaching journey. Waratahs coach Darren Coleman and Western Force coach Simon Cron have only recently made the step up from club rugby while the Melbourne Rebels are coached by South African Kevin Foote.
New Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss has experience all around the world, however he has only just returned to Australia and likely would need to find his feet before pursuing the Wallabies role.
Former Australian coach and current Argentina leader Michael Cheika is yet to finalise his plans for 2024 but said on the weekend his focus is currently on the Pumas.
The other experienced candidate is another former ACT coach, Andy Friend. The 54-year-old is set to return home after five years with Connacht and is pursuing roles in Australian rugby.
Fisher has watched closely as Larkham has grown and evolved since he first stepped in as a Brumbies assistant in 2011 and feels he needs more time as a head coach before he's ready to step up to the Test arena.
![Former Brumbies coach Andy Friend's name has also been thrown into the Wallabies coaching mix. Picture by Karleen Minney Former Brumbies coach Andy Friend's name has also been thrown into the Wallabies coaching mix. Picture by Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GzY3iczng7SLWqVgHSV78t/edc3db4f-baeb-483b-8437-a2a3888f93e9.jpg/r0_185_3624_2222_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Given uncertainty over McKellar's availability, there has been a push for Larkham to step up and Wallabies legend Chris Latham declared his former teammate is ready for the challenge.
"The Brumbies are one of the strongest Super Rugby teams with runs on the board," Latham said. "He has a fantastic coaching resume, Stephen Larkham would be very good at the job.
"He understands and knows rugby and he's got a good pedigree to do it."
Rugby Australia will undertake a complete review of the Wallabies disastrous World Cup, with Jones' exit set to clear the path for a fresh start from 2024.
The process will be led by Andrew Slack and is expected to be finalised in December.
RA is also in the process of hiring a high performance boss, with David Nucifora's name regularly thrown about as he plans a return to Australia. It's understood former Australian sevens and Melbourne Rebels head coach Billy Millard has been approached however the uncertainty in Australian rugby is making it difficult for chief executive Phil Waugh to fill the role.
While the tournament did not go to plan, a host of emerging players will have benefited from their time in France.
With a British and Irish Lions tour in 2025 and home World Cup in 2027, there is plenty to look forward to and Fisher urged officials not to rush into a decision when filling the vacant Wallabies role.
"You've got to be absolutely crystal clear in everything you want to do as an international head coach," Fisher said. "There's no scope for experimentation. There's scope for different tactics but you've got to make sure you're prep is perfect.
"Each game is a standalone game where you're either playing Test match by Test match, which is must win, or tournament rugby at a World Cup where any loss could be fatal.
"In Super Rugby, if you drop two or three or four games, it's not the end of the earth. The imperatives are different. You have to have that level of purpose and certainty and if you don't get it right you'll get found out."
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