Ex- Bokke Coach Mallet Rules himself out of England Job

Mallett revealed he was contacted by the RFU earlier this week to inquire about his availability for the job, suggesting he was the governing body’s first choice to replace Johnson, who resigned from his position yesterday following England's dreadful World Cup campaign, which was marred by off-field controversies.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/8895264/Nick-Mallett-rules-himself-out-of-the-running-to-replace-Martin-Johnson-as-England-team-manager.html

Will anyone take on this poison chalice before the reviews deliver a verdict?

That means an appointment in the New Year and a 6 Nations imminent

Ouch

Well if he has moved to Capetown, then there might be a glimmer of hope that he could be considered and willing to coach the boks.

What he says about reporting directly to the board may be enough to get rid of Squeaky

The England job is a poison chalice. The media is convinced that England are the best in the world and when they are proven to be mediocre vis a vis the world cup the manager (in this case MJ) is used as a convenient scape goat who jumped before he was pushed.

I Hope Robinson can convince Johnson to come up north of the border to learn the trade of being a coach. Edinburgh could use a good forwards coach.

So who could MJ's replacement be? Putting asside the fact that the backroom staff and upper management should go too.

Mallett - ruled himself out (I would have liked him)

Graham Henry - said he has retired, might be tempted with a large pay packet

Mallinder - surely cant be selected till his team has actually won something.

Eddie Jones - said he would want the job if asked

Brendan Venter - my outside bet, he is over here a lot with Sarries anyway. Given huge backing/resources he built a decent sarries squad. One thing England has in abundance is resources - he could build a really good team.

One thing is that whoever gets the job, they must have a 4 year contract - not be sacked off the back of 1 bad result. They must have full control of the squad ect.

What about Dean Ryan...?

propdavid_london wrote:So who could MJ's replacement be? Putting asside the fact that the backroom staff and upper management should go too.

One thing is that whoever gets the job, they must have a 4 year contract - not be sacked off the back of 1 bad result. They must have full control of the squad ect.

No chance of this though is there? The people making the decision on the new coach will all be changed in the next 6 months and the new lot will be stuck with a coach they didn't choose.

I now think they should sack EVERYONE. Start again. I'll choose who gets each job ;-)

Jim Mallinder has done good things at Saints.

I would be happy to see him given a go.

Mafia - I would rather not Dean Ryan. He had good resources with Gloucester and didnt win anything. Granted they were/are a good team but they choked on the big games (a lot).

Screamin - that would be a good start, full clearout (not going to happen though).

Andrew picked Ashton, then presided over his exit and was the one to back MJ, who is now also gone - how can Andrew not even consider resigning his post!

Metal - I agree that Malinder is a very good coach, so too is his back room staff. I would not be upset to see MAlinder given the job, but would be very dissapointed if Ryan was the head honcho.

Propdavid....I need to correct you on one point re RA. RA wanted BA to remain as England coach/manager and twice recommended this. It was Martyn Thomas and the management board who put MJ in place. I am not a RA fan, but your point above is unfair.

Lots of support for Mallinder I am reading today.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/8895231/Brendan-Venter-Jim-Mallinder-as-an-old-fashioned-head-coach-is-the-perfect-candidate-for-the-England-job.html


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/8895269/Martin-Johnson-will-always-be-an-England-hero-but-it-is-time-to-turn-to-someone-like-Jim-Mallinder.html

handoff - fair point, in that case I have been unfair on Andrew.

Like I said, Mallinder would be a good coach. Brendan Venter equally good option.

I wonder what is Mallinders contract situation...?

With Saints looking good for another positive HEC I would be surprised if they would let him go.

My insider mates reckon Andrew wants his old Wasps team mate Ryan to get the nod, hense enquiring on your thoughts above

Top contenders for me are:

Mallinder, Dean Richards, Ewan McKensie and maybe Booth from LI.

Latest odds: Eurosport

3/1 Jim Mallinder (England)

3/1 Graham Henry (New Zealand)

4/1 Nick Mallett (South Africa)

6/1 John Kirwan (New Zealand)

14/1 Jake White (South Africa)

16/1 Dean Ryan (England)

20/1 Conor O'Shea (Ireland)

25/1 Clive Woodward (England)

25/1 Shaun Edwards (England)

It's a real shame about Mallett, he'd have been an excellent choice.

Leinster - Dean Richards, great shout - but will he ever be allowed back into the game at premiership level, let alone national coach. I agree that he might be the man for the job. But he has been out of Rugby for a long time. How long has Dean Ryan been out of the game (coaching that is).

I absolutely agree the England manager/coach position(s) are poison until that idiotic review and the RFU gets sorted. I would question the sanity of anyone who would put themselves in the running before then. Of course, Eddie Jones would qualify now since he is already half nuts.

I also think Mallett is moving back to Cape Town with at least a glimmer of hope he can secure the Boks position. Would be a perfect fit for the Boks now.

propdavid_london wrote:Leinster - Dean Richards, great shout - but will he ever be allowed back into the game at premiership level, let alone national coach. I agree that he might be the man for the job. But he has been out of Rugby for a long time. How long has Dean Ryan been out of the game (coaching that is).

He is just what England need. He takes no nonsense. He has been out for a while in terms of coaching but has been involved in an advisory capacity. I dont think it matters much that he has been out for a while nor that he was involved in blood gate. Forgive and forget, he has the goods.

If I was an England fan I'd want him, Mallinder or McKensie. I would consider Jake White, Graham Henry or Eddie Jones strictly as caretakers only until end of season when more managers are available.

I wouldn't want Woodward, Ashton or Venter.

I would want consider EO'S or Jo Schmidt as backs coaches as they are up there with the best. Better than Brian Smith was anyway.

I wonder if Ryan is already in with a shout.

He had a good chance of the Wasps job in the Summer, but eventually turned it down.
At the time, I felt it was because he was kinda comfy at Sky.

However, it could be that RA had a word with him, and told him to keep his diary free after the World Cup.

I wouldn't want EOS in charge of England... definitely not.

It's interesting to see how many people want to do away with Brian Smith now as attack coach.
Before he was appointed with England, most people on the old 606 board were saying that England were stupid for not appointing him.... and were then over the moon when he was appointed.
Interesting change of tack.


Mallinder is an interesting shout.
Let's not delude ourselves about Northampton though.
While they have some great backs, their rise to power over the last couple of seasons has been due, in no small part, to a pair of enormous props (that England don't have), and a 'safety-first' fly half.

Most on here want massively exciting rugby, and hate the '10 man' style that England have supposedly played over the years.
Mallinder's Northampton is built around a hugely powerful front row and pack, and a controlling 10.

I know that the likes of Hartley and Lawes are mobile forwards, and Foden and Ashton are electric runners and finishers... but we have them playing for England already...
Whatever you may all think, players don't just lose their natural instincts when they hook up with England.


I'm not saying that Mallinder is a bad call.
Personally, I'm all for England having a dominant front row, and playing rugby in the right areas of the park.
Just be careful what you wish for.

Wasps....you make some good points. Well done

I was all for Brian Smith originally and like many have been disappointed with our lack of creative play. Without insider knowledge we don't really know why. Is it Brian Smith or MJ or Wells or merely that our players are not very good? Hard for us to say.

And Northampton are world beaters when Mujati and Tonghuia (sic) are propping, but are significantly weaker without them. England don't have props of their class so we will never have that sort of up front dominance. Overall I want England to have a mean and nasty pack who can score tries thru rolling mauls and a set of backs who can ask questions of the defence. Not too much to ask is it? Now that White, Mallet are ruled out it really only leaves Mallinder and Eddie Jones for me. Dean Ryan would be a big gamble.

For me, I don't care about the style England play. Only question I have is "do they win?"
Shouldn't the style match the skill sets of the players?
I think Mallinder is successful because he has matched his teams style of play to the skills of his team.

Brian Smith is apparently being looked at by the ARFU (Oz) so he may well be leaving anyway.

And to replace him i'd take Austin Healy as backs coach.

wasps wrote:I wouldn't want EOS in charge of England... definitely not.

Fair enough I wouldn't want him in charge of Ireland but I do think he would make a great backs coach because when he was Ireland manager we had one of the most organised creative attacking back lines in Europe. His weakness as a manager is he doesn't put enough trust in his management team around him. He isn't really a people person.

However, he is very precise, organised, creative and takes no bull. I'd say he would be a great backs coach for England even if it ain't gonna happen.

Leinster - its definately an out of the box suggestion. I'm not sure that EOS would want to go back to being a backs coach after having the top job for Ireland and then Eagles.

Na, I'd be OK with Venter. wasps makes good points re:Mallinder, we dont have the dominant pack that Norhants has over other prem teams! Find 2 hulking props and we can consider playing that style for England.

That being said, I still wouldnt mind Mallinder being given the Job. But, they still need to sort out the top before hiring anyone - and that needs to be sorted soon, there isnt long to Feb and the 6N.

Just read on ESPN that Venter isnt interested either - the list is shrinking.

Venter would be a bit of a risk no? Gets results but would the media prey on him and he might be prone to meltdowns.

I think Mallander or Richards are the best suited English men but if I was looking further afield Id want Ewan McKensie. Surprised his name isn't being mentioned as he has done amazing work with the Reds. However, maybe a Aussie would not be best suited to the stuffy (with respect) corridors of the RFU.

Pat Howard did OK with Tigers blazers - Maybe McKensie could work with the RFU blazers!

Yeah I'd say so too just wondering why there is no interest. I guess he doesn't have much international experience.

Rarely is an appointment offered to the public favourite - McKenzie would be a real out of the box decision. But I'm not sure anyone in the rfu has the balls to make that call.

At least Mckenzie has coaching experience.

Worst case scenario - Andrew steps in as interim head coach again!

I'd say worst case scenario would be appointing Henry, Jones or White who have all been around the block and would probably see it as possibly one last horrah and a nice little boost to their retirement fund without ever feeling they have have anything to prove. Don't rate any of them very highly anyway.

A younger guy with a lot to prove with a bit of a track record would be much better like Mallinder and Richards who has definitely a lot to prove. In some ways he is the perfect guy for the job apart from the initial media circus he would attract. I think he could handle that anyway.

leinsterbaby wrote:I'd say worst case scenario would be appointing Henry, Jones or White who have all been around the block and would probably see it as possibly one last horrah and a nice little boost to their retirement fund without ever feeling they have have anything to prove. Don't rate any of them very highly anyway.

A younger guy with a lot to prove with a bit of a track record would be much better like Mallinder and Richards who has definitely a lot to prove. In some ways he is the perfect guy for the job apart from the initial media circus he would attract. I think he could handle that anyway.

I don't understand how you can't rate Graham Henry,Eddie Jones or Jake White highly, they have all been part of teams that have won the biggest tournament there is to win !!!

yappysnap wrote:And to replace him i'd take Austin Healy as backs coach.

Could end up with the whole sky sports team?

Dean Ryan head coach
Stuart Barnes Backs Coach
Greenwood attack Coach
Dewi as Forwards coach
Miles Harrison as defence coach?

Barwell at Saints is trying to rule out malinder

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/15774745.stm

I think the fact Mallinder hasn't won anything isn't particularly relevant - he got to a HC final and has steadily improved as a coach. Mallinder to England, Dean Richards to Saints?

I'd imagine Eddie Jones would be considered given his CV, and John Kirwan seems very well regarded.

Jake White is still a contender - I think he'd love the job if he could get out of his present contract. Venter in a few years time is a possibility (I think he'd be excellent), but by then Conor O'Shea may be ready for international rugby.

I'm fairly indifferent as, much as I came to like MJ as a man I think almost all the contenders are better qualified to do the job than he was and they will all start with a fresh coaching team (even if Rowntree and Ford can consider themselves slightly unlucky).

Kirwan would struggle with the BS that comes with the job. I like the idea of an Aussie or Kiwi who would just ignore the sensibilities and give hte press as good as they got

sirtidychris wrote:

leinsterbaby wrote:I'd say worst case scenario would be appointing Henry, Jones or White who have all been around the block and would probably see it as possibly one last horrah and a nice little boost to their retirement fund without ever feeling they have have anything to prove. Don't rate any of them very highly anyway.

A younger guy with a lot to prove with a bit of a track record would be much better like Mallinder and Richards who has definitely a lot to prove. In some ways he is the perfect guy for the job apart from the initial media circus he would attract. I think he could handle that anyway.

I don't understand how you can't rate Graham Henry,Eddie Jones or Jake White highly, they have all been part of teams that have won the biggest tournament there is to win !!!

So what. Graham Henry underachieved with NZ in terms of world cups because they failed so spectacularly in France and they weren't very convincing winners in NZ despite being easily the best team and at home. Yes they had injury problems but Henry as a tatician isnt great plus his record as Wales manager was very poor. He does deserve a lot of credit for his WC win but that would be huge motivation for me not to want him as he has nothing to prove now.

Jones I don't rate because he is mad and I don't think he would get the respect of the English press, public and players required to be a success.

White presided over one of the bleakest periods of recent Bok history results wise despite having an incredible squad. All of a sudden SA become world champs by beating no top five teams and he is a great manager? I think not. He is all talk and I think Gert Small had as much to do with any Bok success as White.

I still honestly cant see how England are going to attract a decent top level manager whilst Rob Andrew continues to pull the strings. In the press conference MJ looked strong and honest and Rob Andrew looked like Gollum "Its my job, my precious"

England need a manager with passion for English rugby and not someone looking for a big pay day. The only managers that will manage England right now under the current set up will be those looking for money and not have a terrible amount of passion for English rugby. Until Rob Andrew goes, it really isnt a position that many top managers will want.

eirebilly wrote:I still honestly cant see how England are going to attract a decent top level manager whilst Rob Andrew continues to pull the strings. In the press conference MJ looked strong and honest and Rob Andrew looked like Gollum "Its my job, my precious"

I absolutely agree. I think thats why the potential candidates keep ruling themselves out (ie. running away). I also believe Mr. Barwell pushing to keep Jim Mallinder at Saints is a good move for Mallinder (although Barwell is looking out for Saints best interest).

I like your analogy about Gollum in a suit. Funny. So, thats what Gollum looks like after he came out of that volcano. I always thought he was misunderstood, and that selfish whinging Hobbit stole his precious............

I just think that if Rob Andrew had the best interests of English rugby at heart he would realise that he has made bad mistakes and accept the resposibility and stand down. He is not helping the cause by hanging on to his position, he is discouraging top class managers from accepting a position like that.

I think the fact that I have never heard anyone say anything good about squeaky, ever, says a lot.

eirebilly wrote:I just think that if Rob Andrew had the best interests of English rugby at heart he would realise that he has made bad mistakes and accept the resposibility and stand down. He is not helping the cause by hanging on to his position, he is discouraging top class managers from accepting a position like that.

screamingaddabs wrote:I think the fact that I have never heard anyone say anything good about squeaky, ever, says a lot.

Absolute truth.