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World Cup winner Woodman wanted by Australia as specialist forwards coach
By PETER JACKSON Rugby Correspondent
Last updated at 10:15 PM on 09th December 2008
The Wallabies are preparing to launch England’s World Cup winning prop Trevor Woodman on a new international career next year in the green and gold of Australia.
The Cornishman who found himself on the Premiership scrapheap three years ago at the age of 29 has been head-hunted by the Australian Rugby Union to join their high-performance unit as a specialist forwards coach, responsible for providing a long-term cure to their scrummaging problem.
Woodman is also considering another offer to rejoin ex-England coach John Mitchell at the Perthbased Western Force Super 14 franchise in a consultancy role.
Australia coach Robbie Deans wants Woodman to fill the forwards vacancy left by Michael Foley’s departure and it may be only a matter of time before the former
Gloucester and Sale loosehead becomes the first British coach of the professional era to work with one of the big southern hemisphere countries.
On top of the world: Woodman (right) with Phil Vickery (left) and Steve Thompson after the World Cup Final in 2003
A back injury having finished him as a player in August 2005, Woodman left for Australia later that year. ‘I just went out to try to enjoy myself a bit and get used to the fact that I wasn’t able to play again,’ he said after returning to England for a close- season break. ‘Then I started doing the scrum stuff for the Sydney University club once a week and it’s all gone from there.
‘If the chance came to work in an international environment that would be very exciting. So many international coaches are working across the globe for countries other than those of their birth that it’s not an issue any more. It certainly wouldn’t be for me in the same way that it isn’t for Brian Smith as an Australian working for England.’
Woodman’s growing reputation as a scrum expert has been acknowledged by Mitchell, Sir Clive Woodward’s No 2 before returning to his native New Zealand in April 2000. Mitchell’s Force are proposing to hire him as of next month despite the five-hour
flight time from Sydney to Perth.
‘Trevor has done an excellent job for Sydney University who have been the leaders of the club competition and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up with the Wallabies,’ said Mitchell. ‘We want him to do a scrummaging consultancy but the contract has not yet been signed.’
Sale, resigned to losing Philippe Saint-Andre at the end of the season, want a transfer fee of £170,000 for Sebastien Chabal, who is to join the club’s director of rugby in
returning to France. They have also put a four-figure price on their France prop Lionel Faure.
Homecoming: Chabal
Chabal, 31, has transformed his career since following Saint-Andre from Bourgoin to Stockport four years ago, but his contract runs out at the end of next season, and the
France No 8-cum-lock has asked to be released 12 months ahead of schedule for personal reasons.
‘We have no intention of allowing Sebastien to go before the end of the season,’ said Sale owner Brian Kennedy. ‘We will do everything we can to keep the French contingent at Sale but with “Seabass” we recognise that he wants to go back to France for family reasons.
‘We have to be sympathetic towards him but we are not going to give him away.
‘If someone wants to buy his contract out they will have to pay the market value but we will not hold him against his wishes.’
Toulon head the queue for Chabal alongside Stade Francais, in danger of being knocked out of Europe should Harlequins complete a home-and-away double at
The Stoop on Saturday. Sale will take Chabal back to France this week acutely aware that their European ambitions demand another five-point haul from Saturday night’s return at Montauban.
Gavin Henson, forced to miss all four Wales internationals last month because of an Achilles tendon problem, is in line to return for the Ospreys’ weekend Heineken Cup tie against Treviso in Italy.
The Wellington Hurricanes have opened talks aimed at bringing Carl Hayman back to New Zealand at least 12 months before his £350,000-a-year contract at Newcastle is due to run out in May 2010.
‘We have had very initial talks with his agent,’ said Hurricanes chief executive Gary Peters. ‘We understand from other sources that he is keen to come back. We are definitely interested in him.’
Taranaki, Hayman’s first provincial team, have also made noises about signing him, provided he takes a 50 per cent pay cut.
Dave Thompson, Newcastle’s chairman- owner, said: ‘This is speculation and I’m not getting involved.’ The Hurricanes want to sign Hayman for the start of the 2010 Super 14. Newcastle, second from bottom of the Premiership, would have to release Hayman should they be relegated.
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