Irish great Ronan O’Gara didn’t hesitate in expressing his interest in the soon-to-be vacant Wallabies head coaching role, but Dan McKellar – one of the leading Australian candidates – could not have tried to run further from expressing his desire to be in the mix. Or, at least, publicly that is.
After being in the discussion for the Wallabies coaching job over the past couple of years, not even Joe Schmidt’s recent decision to finish up following spring’s Rugby Championship changed McKellar’s sole focus of getting the Waratahs back on track.
“I’ve got no idea, mate,” said McKellar, after being asked if he was one of the candidates to take over from Schmidt. “I don’t know. I’ve answered the question a hundred times.
“I was in Leicester and I’d go to every press conference and I’d get asked about the Wallabies job and it was a distraction. I can assure you I’m not going to be distracted the second time around.
“I’ve answered that question and we crack on with it.
“I want to beat the Highlanders on Friday night and nothing will get in my way in terms of doing that.”
Asked what his reaction was when he heard the news that Schmidt wouldn’t continue through to the World Cup, McKellar said he was disappointed the New Zealander wasn’t able to continue in the role.
“Honestly, there was no reaction from me,” he said. “Besides disappointment, because he’s a good man.
“I’ve had quite a lot of dealings with him. A lot of it was over the phone, obviously, for 12 months and that stability. But he’s got his family situation that he’s spoken about and I fully respect and understand that.
“Someone’s going to get an opportunity to lead Australia to the World Cup in 2027 and I’m sure they’ll embrace that and love that. But fellas, I’m just here to talk about the Waratahs.”
Dan McKellar says he doesn’t want anything to get in the way of his rebuild with the Waratahs. Photo: Hugo Carr/NSW Waratahs
Although McKellar continues to play a straighter bat than Rahul Dravid did during his illustrious career to questions surrounding the Wallabies, it’s understood the former Brumbies coach is firmly in the conversation to take over from Schmidt.
He’s not alone, with Queensland coach Les Kiss and Wallabies great Stephen Larkham also in the mix.
Former Wallabies boss Michael Cheika, who will be a free agent and is the most credentialled Australian candidate, is unlikely to be strongly considered given his past history.
While Schmidt and Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh have in the past expressed their desire to promote from within, the former Wallaby said he was open to another foreigner taking on the role if it continued Australia’s momentum through to the World Cup.
Already O’Gara said he was “keen” while reigning Super Rugby-winning coach Vern Cotter has plenty of supporters given his proven record, including his experience on the international stage having previously led Scotland to a World Cup in 2015.
Other options like former Blues coach and All Blacks assistant Leon MacDonald, who like Cotter has a strong relationship with Schmidt, is another respected figure who is a free agent after leaving Scott Robertson’s team last August.
Given the litany of options, McKellar, who is highly ambitious and previously served as Dave Rennie’s assistant with the Wallabies but left in 2023 after the New Zealander’s axing, reiterated that he didn’t find it helpful engaging in hypotheticals.
“I don’t think I spent a whole lot of time focusing on it over there (Leicester) either, but it was a distraction,” McKellar said.
“In this professional, high-performance environment, you cannot allow yourself to be distracted.
“As I said, I’m not going to allow that to occur again.”
Dan McKellar previously worked under Wallabies boss Dave Rennie. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The vacant Wallabies coaching role adds an intriguing dimension to what shapes as the most competitive Super Rugby season since 2015, with the Waratahs shaping as the big movers after their huge movement in the coaching and playing ranks.
They’ve been helped by a generous draw too, with the Waratahs to play four of their opening five matches at home too.
But capitalising on the draw and banking wins, no matter what the performances look like, will be essential.
“What wins games in round one doesn’t necessarily win you a game in round ten,” said McKellar, who led the Brumbies to consecutive semi-final appearances before moving on.
“We’ll go out there with the mindset and the intent to play some rugby, but we’ll have a really clear plan around how we’re going to go about that and how we get the best opportunity to do that. But round one and the early rounds of Super Rugby, or any professional competition, are certainly a little bit different to later on in the season.”
Despite being known for placing a particular emphasis on developing the tight-five, McKellar also pointed out the threats in his backline and said everything had to have a balance to it.
“You play to the strengths of your group, so we’re not going to be playing 10-man rugby where your [Max] Jorgensens, [Joseph-Aukuso] Suaaliis, [Andrw] Kellaways, [Lalakai] Foketis, these boys don’t see the ball, by any means.
“You play to the strengths of your group.
“I’m a big believer that in any rugby team or in any rugby union game, you need to have a good set-piece and you need to be physical around the collision area. So, we’ll certainly prioritise that.
“We’ll certainly focus on those areas, but also understand that we’ve got a decent amount of strike (power) that we need to get the ball to, and play a style of rugby that really resonates with the community and the history here.
“But what I believe in and what I think are really key principles or the fundamentals of the game, we’ll go hard at.”
Dan McKellar at Waratahs training alongside Wallabies Jake Gordon (L) and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. Photo: Waratahs Media
As for Suaalii and captain Jake Gordon, McKellar said the Wallabies were fit for Friday’s opener.
McKellar wouldn’t reveal where Suaalii would line up, but it’s likely he will wear the No.15 jersey.
“He’s trained in a couple of positions today,” McKellar said.
“We’re just looking to have him involved in the game, aren’t we? We’re not playing under-8s, let’s just give it to Joseph, but he’s a point-of-difference player that we want to have in the game.
“He’s got a number of different strengths, and we look to build the game around making sure that he gets access to use those.”
