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BEAUTY!!!
Good luck Reds
THE man designated as Ewen McKenzie's coaching successor at the Queensland Reds, Richard Graham, insists he is ready to take on the challenge.
Graham already has the title of "head coach", but he will take on that role in reality, not just name, in August, once McKenzie, the Reds director of coaching, quits Ballymore to pursue his dream of coaching at Test level, either in Australia or abroad.
In April last year, Graham stunned the Australian rugby community when he stood down from his position as Western Force head coach to effectively become an assistant coach under McKenzie at the Reds. But it was a deal the former Queensland fullback was happy to make because it not only gave him the chance to work with the coach and the players who the year before had won the Super Rugby title but also to bring his family home to Brisbane.
Now, after working with the Reds through their off-season build-up and then taking on the role of defence coach, Graham insists he is ready to take over the running of the side following McKenzie's departure.
"Absolutely," Graham said yesterday. "I've done a long apprenticeship as an assistant coach at Bath, Saracens, the Wallabies and the Western Force before having about 18 months as head coach at the Force."
Indeed, he said, the original plan when Queensland approached him was that he would take over the side in 2014 when McKenzie withdrew from on-field work to move into a specially created role of director of rugby. So, in effect, nothing has changed except that McKenzie no longer will play any role in the Reds organisation. "The shape of the rugby department won't change," Graham said.
Whether the shape of the Reds' rugby changes remains to be seen, but Graham insists he and McKenzie are on the same page in terms of how they want Queensland to play. "Philosophically, we believe in the same things," he said.
what odds they will be propping up the Australian conference next season!
On the good news side of things our chances of re signing MMM have just increased considerably
Not sure I'd want the '18 months as head coach at the Western Force' on my CV, but there you go!
Good luck Reds!
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Here come the sour grapes again...
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Richard Head Coach![]()
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
Seriously? ! Are we that isolated from the world that no one pays attention to how effin terrible we were under that plonker when he was in charge???
Geezo, we dodged a bullet getting rid of him. I'd personally like to thank Mr Graham for having a ridiculously unfounded high opinion of his coaching talents to even consider he was even worthy of a head coaches role! And the head of recruitment at Ballymore.
Did the aimless kicking by the Reds on Friday night ring any bells?
IMHO..... he's being found out. Phew... close one!
Great game, Fucken battled right through to the 80!
Who ever put him up as head coach here in Perth should have had a bloody good kicking up the Khyber.
He was promoted above his abilities then and it looks as though its happening again.
May the FORCE be with you!
To be fair to the EWF management team, the Force recruited him as assistant to Mitchell when he was Wallabies Skills Coach, so that was quite a coup.
Where they fell down was not noticing that the Wallabies skills were bloody awful under Graham.
wasn't he parachuted in by JON when it was clear Mitchell had lost the dressing room and confidence of the board? As part of JONs power grab? I'm not sure the Force had a say in the appointment as deputy coach.
Where they really went off the rails was subsequent when Mitchell departed and they did not do a correct advertising and application process, just simple appointed Graham. God what a lost two years![]()
The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with a monotonous languor
The situation may have been the same as when he was initially appointed - pressure from ARU. May have been financial pressure too.
Whatever was the case I'm thinking of it all as water under the bridge. There seems to be better governance locally and in the east - so far. Onward!
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Graham going is the best thing that could of happened for us and the worst for the Reds. We will see if he can actually coach next season, when he takes over a team that has won the Super comp and is full of Wallabies. I would be very nervous if I were a Reds fan...........