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Wayne Smith | April 03, 2008
BRUMBIES coach Laurie Fisher confirmed yesterday he would be interested in applying for the Waratahs' coaching position if the ACT Rugby Union does not want to re-sign him when his contract expires at the end of the season.
The NSWRU continues to deny persistent rumours that it already has settled on attack coach Todd Louden as the replacement for dumped coach Ewen McKenzie, with chief executive Jim L'Estrange insisting yesterday he had fielded "north of 10 but south of 15" approaches from domestic and foreign-based Australian coaches interested in the job.
"I'm not saying they're all outstanding applicants but the word is out there and my phone is still ringing," L'Estrange said. "I'll give it a few more days to make sure the list is as robust as possible and then I'll sit down with Ewen and ask him if there are any other coaches not on the list who are worthy of a call.
"The reality is that this is a (NSWRU) board decision and if I went to the board and said we had only one name for them to consider, they'd tell me that was unacceptable. I've got to be able to show the board a process that is open and transparent. There is no-one who is a shoo-in."
Much the same words were used by ARU spokespersons last year when the organisation was going through the process of choosing a chief executive to replace Gary Flowers, even though it was regarded almost as a given that the job would go to John O'Neill - as indeed it did.
L'Estrange, however, insisted that was not a fair analogy of the Louden situation. "It's not as cut and clear as that," said L'Estrange who intends recruiting the services of the NSWRU's internal rugby board member Ed Zemancheff, an external recruitment agency and an ARU expert to help him finalise a short list of contenders.
Just who the ARU might offer him remains unclear given that Pat Howard, the former high performance unit manager, has quit the organisation although he or one of his predecessors in the job, Brett Robinson or Jeff Miller, might easily be drafted to offer independent advice.
While Louden remains the overwhelming favourite for the Waratahs' job, it may well be that all bets will be off if the NSWRU unearths another high-quality contender for the position, certainly a description that would fit Fisher - the Australia A and former Australia under-21 coach - who is now in his fourth season as head coach of the Brumbies.
"I'm off contract and the (ACTRU) CEO (Andrew Fagan) and the board have started down the process of deciding who will coach the Brumbies next year," Fisher said. "I've re-applied but if I wasn't going to be needed, then yes, I would consider putting in for the Waratahs. A job is a job, after all."
But even if the Brumbies resolve to part company with Fisher, he is uncertain whether the organisation would be in a position to give him the heads-up before the end of the month, which is the deadline L'Estrange has set himself to come up with McKenzie's replacement.
Fagan yesterday said he understood the timing considerations but stressed the ACT process had to run its course.
Fisher jokingly suggested that he and McKenzie might swap jobs.
But Fagan quickly put an end to such idle talk of McKenzie, a former Brumbies player and assistant coach, returning to Canberra.
"I don't think so," he said. "He hasn't expressed interest in us and we haven't expressed interest in him."
L'Estrange, however, said he was "quite open" to the idea of Fisher joining the field for the Waratahs' job.
"The Brumbies have been very lucky to have a quality resource like Laurie. Obviously if he was available, now would be a good time for he and I to sit down over a cup of coffee.
"As for the job swap idea, as I said to Ewen this week, it's a funny profession he's chosen to be part of."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...012430,00.html
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