Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan said that there is plenty of interest in the Wallabies' head coaching role after Eddie Jones' exit and that the position will be open to foreign candidates.
The organisation confirmed on Tuesday it had accepted Jones's resignation as a "sensible outcome" after the Wallabies' group-stage elimination from the World Cup, the nation's worst performance in the tournament's history.
McLennan said an Australian coach's knowledge of grass-roots rugby in the country would be of value but added that Rugby Australia (RA) wanted the best person for the job. "It's around contracting, strength and conditioning, player identification, so if you’ve grown up through the system, you could argue that you might have a more intimate knowledge of that," he said in comments published by the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday."But we want the best coach so the rugby committee is going to run that process.
I can tell you, there’s no shortage of high-quality coaches that want to come and coach the Wallabies." New Zealander Robbie Deans, who coached Australia from 2008-13, ruled out another stint in the job. "You don't go back," the Panasonic Wild Knights coach said on Wednesday in Brisbane.