Ewen McKenzie: Rugby Player & Coach
Ewen McKenzie: Rugby Player & Coach
org/wiki/Ewen_McKenzie
Ewen McKenzie
Australia
McKenzie was the second Victorian born and bred player to represent Australia after the great
Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop. He played for the Wallabies 51 times, earning his first cap in 21–9
victory over France on 9 June 1990 at the Sydney Football Stadium.[2] He started every match
of the 1990 French tour to Australia, winning the test series 2–1. His first major test series was
the Bledisloe Cup series in August 1990. The All Blacks won the trophy with a 2–1 series win.
McKenzie was part of the Australian side that claimed the 1991 Rugby World Cup, beating the
All Blacks in the semi-final with a famous 16–6 victory at Lansdowne Road,[3] before taking the
cup with a 12–6 victory over England in the final at Twickenham, where he formed a formidable
front row alongside Tony Daly and Phil Kearns.[4]
In 1992, McKenzie travelled to Cape Town with the Wallabies to play the Springboks for the first
time in 22 years. Australia defeated South Africa convincingly by 26–3.[5] The previous month,
McKenzie had won his first Bledisloe Cup series, beating the All Blacks 2–1 with a 19–17 victory
at Ballymore, and a 16–15 victory at the Sydney Football Stadium. In the space of twelve
months, the Australians won the World Cup and beaten the four home nations and South Africa
and New Zealand.[6]
The Wallabies were unable to retain the Bledisloe a year later after a 25–10 loss at Carisbrook.
However, McKenzie was part of the team that beat South Africa for just the second time in a
series on Australian soil with a 2–1 win over the Springboks during their 1993 tour of Australia.
In 1994, the Wallabies won all 6 games they played in that year, with McKenzie starting in all 6
games. He was part of the 1995 Rugby World Cup squad, but was unable to retain their 1991
title following a 25–22 loss to England in the Quarter Finals at Cape Town.
In 1996, McKenzie played just two games of the Wallabies season, which were part of the 1996
Welsh tour of Australia. He missed the inaugural series of the Tri nations, but was reselected in
1997 for the 1997 French tour of Australia. 1997 was the year McKenzie retired from
international rugby, making his last appearance on 12 July 1997 after a 25–6 victory over
England in Sydney. In his entire career of 51 test matches, he only ever played as a substitute
once, during a pool game in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.[7]
World XV
In 1992, McKenzie toured New Zealand with the World XV to mark the centenary of the New
Zealand Rugby Union. New Zealand won the series 2–1, with a 54–26 win at Wellington and a
26–15 win at Auckland.[8] The World XV's only win was the opening match, where they secured
a 28–14 win.
Honours
Rugby World Cup / Webb Ellis Cup
Winner: 1991
Bledisloe Cup
Winner: 1992, 1994
Trophée des Bicentenaires
Winner: 1990, 1993, 1997
Cook Cup
Winner: 1997
Super 12
Runner-up: 1997 (Brumbies)
Coaching career
Following his retirement from playing in 1997, McKenzie has coached at many different levels.
He has coached both in the Southern Hemisphere and the Northern Hemisphere, taking on
different roles of coaching. He began with the Brumbies in 1998 as a coaching co-ordinator
before spending three years with the Wallabies as an assistant coach to Rod Macqueen and
Eddie Jones. His success as an assistant landed him a role as head coach of the Waratahs, where
still to this date his five-year tenure makes him the longest serving coach of the Sydney-based
team. During this time he also briefly coached the Australia A side. McKenzie then joined
French team Stade Français for the 2008–09 season.
He returned home in 2009 and took up the role as director of rugby for the Queensland Reds.
He coached the Reds for four seasons from 2010 to 2013 before stepping down to pursue
international opportunities. He was heavily linked with the head coaching positions of Scotland
and Ireland, but it was the Wallabies McKenzie wanted to coach.[9][10] On 8 July 2013,
McKenzie was named head coach of the Wallabies succeeding Robbie Deans. After fifteen
months in charge, McKenzie resigned as coach of the Wallabies on 18 October 2014.[11]
Stade Français
Following a successful 5-year tenure with the NSW Waratahs, McKenzie joined French club
Stade Français in 2008, taking the side to the semi-final in the first year in charge – Stade
Français lost to Perpignan 25–21 in that semi-final.[12]
Queensland Reds
On 9 October 2009 it was announced that McKenzie was leaving France to return home to
Australia, and that he was taking over the coaching job of the Queensland Reds in the Super 14,
succeeding Phil Mooney. He became the club's seventh coach in 11 years.[12] During his first
year as Queensland Reds Director of Rugby in 2010, he took the side to 5th in the table, a
significant rise from previous positions of the bottom 5 in the table. The 5th-place positioning,
was the Reds highest position since 2002.
That success continued into 2011 when the Reds triumphed to win their first Super Rugby
Championship in the professional Rugby era, beating the Crusaders 18–13 at Suncorp. Having
devised a brand of rugby that received international acclaim, the Reds topped the regular season
with 13 victories and just 3 losses. McKenzie then guided the Reds to victory over the Blues in
the semi-final and Crusaders in the final to score their first title since 1995.
McKenzie successfully transformed the Reds into the powerhouse rugby province of Australia,
with the team's second straight conference title in 2012 coming only a year after guiding the
team to their maiden Super Rugby championship. However, the Reds were unable to retain
their title, following a heavy home defeat of 30–17 to the Sharks in the Qualifying finals round.
In his first three years at the helm, McKenzie contributed to the Reds winning every major piece
of available silverware, with the only trophy to elude the team during his opening two
campaigns – the Rod Macqueen Cup – making its way to Queensland for the first time in 2012.
Two successive victories over the Brumbies were the catalyst behind the Reds 2012 success as
they again dominated their Australian rivals by winning seven of their eight matches against
domestic opposition. Among other firsts, the Reds also claimed their maiden win at Eden Park.
Prior to McKenzie's tenure, the Reds had been through several poor seasons. Despite the
expansive style of rugby introduced by previous head coach Phil Mooney, the team had
remained in the bottom half of the table. The side was transformed under McKenzie, still
playing entertaining rugby but with a greatly improved win–loss ratio.
McKenzie, in his own column in the Sydney Morning Herald, shared his coaching insights. In
April, he first he discussed the challenges incorporating a new player into an unfamiliar playing
environment.[14] A week later he explained, "The decision [by Queensland Rugby] to recruit
Richard Graham from the Western Force was a proactive one made ... to ensure we can sustain
ongoing success both with the Reds and in the community game."[15] Later he reported being
asked about the strengths of the Australian conference relative to the South African and New
Zealand conferences. In response he said: "I have found this year's competition to be one of the
tightest in memory and this is more of a reflection on the strength of play from all teams as
opposed to any perceived weaknesses."[16] In May, he reflected on the coaches' challenges of
negotiating player contracts.[17]
On 19 March 2013, McKenzie announced he was to stand down as Queensland Reds head coach
at the end of the 2013 Super Rugby season to further his hopes at coaching at international
level.[18] Following the announcement, he was linked to the then vacant Ireland job, as well as
the vacant Scotland job.[19][20] However, despite the links and meetings with other unions, it
was the Wallabies job he wanted, which he landed on 8 July 2013. Although he wasn't set to
take over the Wallabies job until 4 August, his reign at Queensland Reds ended on 20 July
following a 38–9 defeat to the Crusaders in the Qualifiers of the 2013 season, allowing him to
turn his attention to Australia 2 weeks earlier than expected.[21]
His first match in charge was a 47–29 loss to New Zealand at ANZ Stadium in the opening
fixture of the 2013 Rugby Championship.[24] In this match he gave five debutants their first cap,
including Matt To'omua being named at fly-Half ahead of Quade Cooper. To'omua was the first
Wallaby to make his debut against New Zealand in the starting XV since Rod Kafer in 1999. The
27–16 loss a week later, meant the Bledisloe Cup would stay with New Zealand for the 11th year
in a row.[25]
McKenzie then led the team to a 38–12 defeat by South Africa in Brisbane, which was the
Wallabies' largest losing margin to the Springboks in Australia.[26] The next match was a 14–13
win over Argentina in a game hampered by heavy winds and rain in Perth, and it was
McKenzie's first taste of victory as an international coach.[27] In the away fixture against South
Africa in Cape Town, the Wallabies lost again to the Springboks, 28–8.[28]
Australia's final fixture of the Championship saw the Wallabies earn their first bonus point win
of the season with a record 54–17 win. This was the most points Australia had scored in either
the Rugby Championship or Tri Nations.[29] During the Championship, McKenzie made several
bold moves as a coach. He dropped star player Will Genia for Nic White, who at the time had
only 3 caps, and named Ben Mowen as captain in his first year as a test player. In the final
Bledisloe Cap match, Australia became the first team to score 33 points against New Zealand in
New Zealand, but lost the match 41–33 with New Zealand winning the series 3–0.
On the 2013 end of year tour, McKenzie led the team to 4 consecutive wins (50–20 win over
Italy, 32–15 win over Ireland, 21–15 win over Scotland and a 30–26 win over Wales) which was
the first time Australia has done this since 2008. The 20–13 loss to England in the opening
match of the tour ruled out winning the Grand Slam, but Australia won the tour and retained
the Lansdowne Cup, reclaimed the Hopetoun Cup and claimed the James Bevan Trophy for the
6th time in a row.
International Window. The match results were a 50–23 win in Brisbane, a 6–0 win in
Melbourne and a 39–13 win in Sydney. The series win meant Australia regained the Trophée
des Bicentenaires after it had been lost in 2012.
The Wallabies's unbeaten run stretched to 8 matches with a 12–all draw with New Zealand,
prompting optimism that Australia could end their 28-year losing streak at Eden Park.
However, Australia came crashing back to earth, suffering a 51–20 defeat, stretching Australia's
Bledisloe Cup drought to a 12 years. Australia managed to bounce back from that defeat, with
hard fought 24–23 and 32–25 wins over South Africa and Argentina, with the latter win
ensuring that the Wallabies retained the Puma Trophy.
Australia's 28–10 loss away in Cape Town, after conceding 3 tries and a drop goal in the final 11
minutes of the match, led to a one-all test series against South Africa which meant that Australia
was unable to reclaim the Mandela Challenge Plate. A week later, Australia suffered a 21–17 loss
in Argentina to become the first country to lose to the Pumas in the Rugby Championship since
Argentina's admittance in 2012. The result came as a surprise to some as Australia had led 14–0
after scoring two tries in the first twelve minutes, but had but only managed to add one further
penalty during the rest of the match.
The Wallabies played the All Blacks in Brisbane for third and final Bledisloe Cup match of 2014.
For most of the match Australia was the better side and dominated the New Zealanders.[30] The
Wallabies had a 25–15 lead with fifteen minutes remaining, but conceded two late tries, the
second being converted in over-time, for the All Blacks to win by 29–28.[30] This was
McKenzie's last match as Australia's head coach.
This came after a turbulent three weeks in the Australian camp. On 29 September, the ARU had
announced that Kurtley Beale would be investigated over a heated argument between Beale and
the Wallabies business manager Di Patston, on a 10-hour flight from Johannesburg to São
Paulo.[31] The incident led to Patston leaving the tour early and she resigned from her position
shortly afterwards under stress.[32]
As the fall-out continued it was reported that Beale had distributed offensive texts and images
referring to Patston some months earlier.[33] Patston had not escalated this to the ARU to give
Beale a second chance but had told him that she would reveal the contents of the texts if another
incident arose.[33] Beale later admitted to sending an offensive photo and was eventually fined
$45,000 by an independent tribunal.[34] – See Kurtley Beale § Di Patston text controversy.
On 10 October at the announcement of the 32-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup match, it took 17
minutes for the press to ask anything about the squad,[35] while McKenzie came under fire over
the off-field issues leading to Beale's suspension from the team and upcoming tribunal
appearance, and was questioned about Patston's role and whether he had lost the confidence of
the players. McKenzie was even forced to deny being in an extramarital affair with Patston.[36]
McKenzie was appalled at the vitriolic attacks against Patston and the insinuations about his
relationship with her.[11] Team captain Michael Hooper backed Beale while Christian Lealiifano
and Quade Cooper joined McKenzie in backing Patston.[37][38] It was reported that some
players had become uneasy with Patston's role in the team,[39] and with how much power
McKenzie had given her following the revelation that Patston had input into the player
disciplinary measures that occurred on the 2013 Spring Tour.[35][40]
Record
McKenzie coached the Wallabies to 11 wins and one draw in 22 tests coached, a winning
percentage of 50%. He had a good winning record against European teams, 7 of 8 tests played –
the lone loss was against England in November 2013 – and a good record against Argentina, a
3–1 win–loss record. However, he ended with a losing record against other Rugby
Championship opponents, with only a draw to show for in six matches against New Zealand and
a 1–3 win–loss record against South Africa.
Coaching statistics
Australia
Overview
Argentina 4 3 1 0 75
England 1 0 1 0 0
France 3 3 0 0 100
Ireland 1 1 0 0 100
Italy 1 1 0 0 100
New Zealand 6 0 5 1 0
South Africa 4 1 3 0 25
Scotland 1 1 0 0 100
Wales 1 1 0 0 100
TOTAL 22 11 10 1 50
Matches (2013–2014)
Score
World
Matches Date Opposition Venue (Aus– Competition Captain
Ranking
Opponent)
2013
ANZ Stadium,
1 17 August 29–47 4th
Sydney
New James
Zealand Westpac Horwill
2 24 August Stadium, 16–27 4th
Wellington
Suncorp
7 South Will
3 Stadium, 12–38 4th
September Africa Genia
Brisbane
Rugby
14 Subiaco Oval, Championship Ben
4 Argentina 14–13 4th
September Perth Mowen
Newlands
28 South
5 Stadium, Cape 8–28 4th
September Africa
Town
James
Estadio Horwill
Gigante de
6 5 October Argentina 54–17 4th
Arroyito,
Rosario
Forsyth Barr
New James
7 19 October Stadium, 33–41 4th
Zealand Horwill
Dunedin
Twickenham
2
8 England Stadium, 13–20 4th
November
London
Stadio
9
9 Italy Olimpico di 50–20 4th
November
Torino, Turin End of year
Aviva tour
16 Ben
10 Ireland Stadium, 32–15 4th
November Mowen
Dublin
Murrayfield
23
11 Scotland Stadium, 21–15 3rd
November
Edinburgh
Millennium
30
12 Wales Stadium, 30–26 3rd
November
Cardiff
2014
Etihad Michael
14 14 June Stadium, 6–0 Hooper 3rd
Melbourne
Allianz
15 21 June Stadium, 39–13 3rd
Sydney
ANZ Stadium,
16 16 August 12–12 3rd
New Sydney
Zealand Eden Park,
17 23 August 20–51 3rd
Auckland
6 South Patersons
18 24–23 3rd
September Africa Stadium, Perth
Cbus Super
13 Rugby Michael
19 Argentina Stadium, Gold 32–25 3rd
September Championship Hooper
Coast
DHL
27 South
20 Newlands, 10–28 3rd
September Africa
Cape Town
Estadio
Malvinas
21 4 October Argentina 17–21 4th
Argentinas,
Mendoza
Suncorp
New Michael
22 18 October Stadium, 28–29 Bledisloe three 4th
Zealand Hooper
Brisbane
Honours
Puma Trophy
Winner: 2013, 2014
Trophée des Bicentenaires
Winner: June 2014
Hopetoun Cup
Winner: 2013
Lansdowne Cup
Winner: 2013
James Bevan Trophy
Winner: 2013
Club honours
Super Rugby
Winner: 2011 (Queensland Reds)
Runner-up: 2005, 2008 (Waratahs) – 2000 (Brumbies)
Super Rugby Australian Conference
Winner: 2011, 2012 (Queensland Reds)
Australian Conference – Coach of the year
Winner: 2011, 2012
Other honours
The following achievements were picked up by McKenzie during his time as assistant coach for
the Wallabies between 2000 and 2003.
References
1. "Ewen McKenzie named HSBC Waratahs coach for 2004" ([Link]
60830201715/[Link]
tahs_coach_for__15553,[Link]). NSWRU. 12 June 2003. Archived from the original (htt
p://[Link]/news/2003_june/ewen_mckenzie_named_hsbc_waratahs_coach_for_
_15553,[Link]) on 30 August 2006.
2. "Australia 21–9 France" ([Link]
ESPNscrum.
3. "Australia break All Blacks' hearts" ([Link]
story/[Link]). ESPNscrum.
4. "Australia 25–6 England" ([Link]
ESPNscrum.
5. "South Africa v Australia at Cape Town" ([Link]
h/[Link]). ESPNscrum.
6. "Australia 1991-92" ([Link]
m/statsguru/rugby/stats/[Link]?class=1%3Bspanmax1%3D1+Sep+1992%3Bspanmin
1%3D1+Aug+1991%3Bspanval1%3Dspan%3Bteam%3D6%3Btemplate%3Dresults%3Btyp
e%3Dteam%3Bview%3Dresults). ESPNscrum. Archived from the original ([Link]
[Link]/statsguru/rugby/stats/[Link]?class=1;spanmax1=1+Sep+1992;spanmin1=1
+Aug+1991;spanval1=span;team=6;template=results;type=team;view=results) on 5 March
2016.
7. Ewen McKenzie match list ([Link]
1;template=results;type=player;view=match)
8. "Centenary Matches in New Zealand (World XV)" ([Link]
sp?IDID=119).
9. "Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie interested in Ireland job" ([Link]
sport/0/rugby-union/22022351). BBC Sport.
10. "Ewen McKenzie insists he is not Scotland coach" ([Link]
est/ewen-mckenzie-insists-he-is-not-scotland-coach-1-2921598).
11. Tucker, Jim (18 October 2014). "Ewen McKenzie resigns as coach of the Wallabies, ARU
begins search for replacement" ([Link]
resigns-as-coach-of-the-wallabies-aru-begins-search-for-replacement/story-fnii0mk9-12270
94969314). The Courier-Mail. Archived ([Link]
[Link]/6VdR0P8Hu?url=[Link]
zie-resigns-as-coach-of-the-wallabies-aru-begins-search-for-replacement/story-fnii0mk9-122
7094969314%3Fnk=b266d405c4ac6e3044fdac289013e8bf) from the original on 27 May
2024. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
12. Moriarty, Iain (8 August 2009). "Stade sack McKenzie and Dominici" ([Link]
francetop14/rugby/story/[Link]). Scrum. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
13. Growden, Greg (18 February 2012). "McKenzie has big plans for small pack" ([Link]
[Link]/rugby-union/union-news/mckenzie-has-big-plans-for-small-pack-20120217-1te8
[Link]). The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
14. McKenzie, Ewen (12 April 2012). "Scant knowledge can prove to be very dangerous when
new players are thrust into high-pressure situations" ([Link]
nion-news/scant-knowledge-can-prove-to-be-very-dangerous-when-new-players-are-thrust-i
[Link]). The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved
3 May 2012.
15. McKenzie, Ewen (19 April 2012). "Queensland coaching move doesn't mean it's all change
at the Reds" ([Link]
[Link]). The Sydney Morning
Herald. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
16. McKenzie, Ewen (26 April 2012). "Conference call: closeness a sign of competition's
growing strength" ([Link]
[Link]). The Sydney Morning
Herald. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
17. McKenzie, Ewen (3 May 2012). "Tough calls need to be made, on or off the phone" ([Link]
[Link]/rugby-union/union-news/tough-calls-need-to-be-made-on-or-off-the-phon
[Link]). The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
18. "McKenzie set to quit Queensland Reds" ([Link]
ory/[Link]). ESPN scrum. ESPNscrum.
19. "McKenzie plays down Ireland link" ([Link]
[Link]). ESPN scrum. ESPNscrum.
20. "McKenzie and Smith in frame for Scotland post" ([Link]
y/mckenzie-and-smith-in-frame-for-scotland-post.20930792). Herald Scotland. 6 May 2013.
21. "Crusaders romp into semi-finals" ([Link]
[Link]). ESPNscrum.
22. Fox Sports. "Australian Rugby Union confirms Robbie Deans 'stood down' from Wallabies
job on Monday" ([Link]
ms-robbie-deans-stood-down-from-wallabies-job-on-monday/story-e6frf55l-1226676343166
#.UdtY8qlwbIU). Fox Sports. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
23. "Australian Rugby Union confirms Robbie Deans 'stood down' from Wallabies job on
Monday" ([Link]
ach/4808328). Australia: ABC News. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
24. "All Blacks put Wallabies to the sword" ([Link]
3/rugby/story/[Link]). ESPNscrum.
25. "All Blacks retain Bledisloe Cup" ([Link]
y/story/[Link]). ESPNscrum.
26. "Springboks embarrass Wallabies" ([Link]
gby/story/[Link]). ESPNscrum.
40. "Australia ban six players for drinking before Ireland game" ([Link]
gby-union/24983640). BBC Sport.
External links
Ewen McKenzie ([Link] at
ESPNscrum