Ewen McKenzie: Good coach, but not the Messiah

So it’s finally happened. The people have been given what they want- Robbie Deans put out to pasture and Ewen McKenzie in the hot seat.

It is undoubtedly the right decision from Bill Pulver, who has barely put a foot wrong in his tenure as CEO so far. Robbie had taken the team as far as he could, and leaves it in a far better state than his predecessors. The coup was swift and bloodless, and Link will be reading the oath of office early this afternoon. He will finally be Wallaby coach.

This has triggered jubilation around the country, one of the most universally liked appointments in recent memory. Most Australians cracked a smile when they heard the news, and you get the impression that most Queenslanders cracked… something a little different.

So we now have Link at the helm. It seems a foregone conclusion that we will now see an era of dominance that will last a thousand years, with our children never having to taste the pain of defeat like we did on Saturday night. We will be scoring tries and filling stadiums, with rugby rising to ascendancy not only in Australia, but across the world.

People are flocking to invest in trophy cabinets, because you’d better believe we will need a couple more. I am already cutting up ticker-tape for the post Bledisloe parade, and ironing my suit for the Laureus World Sports Awards.

Or something like that. Maybe. Or not.

Because as much as it pains me to do so, I am going to have to play handbrake Harry here. Someone has to.

The Link appointment reminds me of the proverb “be careful what you wish for, because it just might come true”. This is the appointment we have all been dreaming about for years. It makes sense on so many levels, and makes almost everyone happy. But we shouldn’t get too carried away.

Link is not the Messiah. He is a very good coach, but plenty of bloody good coaches have stepped up to the plate at the International level and failed. Robbie Deans had an impressive Super Rugby pedigree, with plenty more titles than Link. So let’s not get our hopes up too high.

The Wallabies still have issues that go far beyond coaching. What happened on Saturday night could only be partly attributed to the man behind the glass upstairs. We still lack a viable tighthead prop. We still struggle mentally on the biggest stages. Our forwards still have a propensity to go missing, or be pushed off the ball. We haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup in 10 years. We are still unclear about the optimal composition of our backline.

These are deep issues, and we can’t expect Link to solve them overnight. Some of them can be solved with more logical selections, but some cannot. Some can be solved with better coaching, but some cannot.

Ewen McKenzie is a great coach with a near flawless pedigree. That should be enough to guarantee some success at the top level. But International rugby can be a cruel mistress.

I hope he succeeds, and will be expecting him to do so.

But I implore all Aussie rugby fans to temper their expectations slightly, because there is a good chance that success won’t come overnight.