The danger of Australia slumping to third place on the international rankings has ensured the next Kangaroos coach will have no club or Origin commitments in a move that is expected to lead to Mal Meninga quitting the Queensland job.
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Meninga has emerged as favourite for the vacant Australian post after the ARL Commission agreed to a range of structural changes aimed at returning the Kangaroos to the top of the international rugby league ladder.
Among them are:
- appointing a dedicated coach with no ties to a club or state;
- implementing a player succession plan to ensure there are strong replacements for retiring players;
- appointing additional medical and support staff for the Australian team; and,
- setting up a clear pathway for players to become Kangaroos.
The decision rules out the possibility of Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett returning to the Kangaroos job he has twice held, in 1998 and from 2004 to 2005.
However, Meninga has indicated he would be willing to step down from the Maroons post he has held since 2006 to coach Australia after a distinguished Test career in which he wore the green and gold jersey 46 times, including a record four Kangaroo tours, on two of which he was captain.
Meninga recently agreed to a three-year deal to continue coaching Queensland but the QRL would not stand in his way if he wanted to take charge of the Kangaroos ahead of the 2017 World Cup.
With England beating New Zealand 26-12 last weekend in Hull, the Kangaroos could be officially relegated to No.3 spot on the RLIF rankings as soon as this weekend if the home nation win the second Test at London's Olympic Stadium.
After boasting an unbeaten record in Test series and tournaments from their 2-0 series defeat by France in 1978 to the 2005 Tri-Nations final, when the Bennett-coached team was thrashed 24-0 by the Kiwis, the Kangaroos have been officially ranked as the top nation in the world until May's Anzac Test loss to New Zealand.
It was Australia's third successive defeat by the Kiwis and if England can win the series against New Zealand they will leapfrog the Kangaroos into the No.2 spot.
"I am sure that does not sit well with any Australian Rugby League fans," ARLC chairman John Grant said. "So we are going to take the steps we believe are necessary to re-establish the Kangaroos as the No.1 team in the world. And, to do that, we have to re-establish the Kangaroos as the pinnacle representative honour in a player's career."
NRL head of football Todd Greenberg said talks had been held with several potential candidates for the Kangaroos job and further discussions would be held before a final selection was made on the successor to Tim Sheens, who stood down last month to take up a role as director of rugby with English Super League club Salford.
"This is a huge boost for the Kangaroos," Greenberg said. "It means they will have a dedicated coach to help them become the best rugby league team in the world. The international game has never been more competitive … and interest has never been so strong. So we are determined to make sure the Kangaroos are given every chance to win the Four Nations tournament next year and, ultimately, the World Cup in 2017."
