[Source: Rugby.com.au]
Former Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has ruled out returning to Australia to replace Eddie Jones.
Deans remains Australia’s longest-serving Wallabies coach, having presided over 75 Tests between 2008 and 2013, with a record of 44 wins, two draws and 29 losses.
The New Zealand great also coached the Crusaders to five Super Rugby crowns before enjoying similarly huge success in Japan with the Panasonic Wild Knights.
Robbie Deans enjoyed enormous Super Rugby success with the Crusaders before coaching the Wallabies.
But after being floated as a candidate to take over from Jones, who dramatically quit this week just 10 months into his five-year deal, Deans on Wednesday said he had no interest in the Wallabies job.
“I’m not (interested). You don’t go back,” Deans said after the Wild Knights’ training session at Ballymore ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Queensland Reds.
“It’s never good to go back, I don’t think.
“And you’ve got what you need here. Yeah, you’ll solve it.”
While outgoing All Blacks coach Ian Foster has also been thrown forward as a potential option, Deans reckons Rugby Australia were best off looking in their own backyard for a successor to Jones.
Former Wallabies assistants Dan McKellar and Stephen Larkham remain the early frontrunners, but RA chief executive Phil Waugh insists the governing body won’t be making any hasty appointments.
“You’ve got a lot of passionate rugby people, just tap into those that care and you’ll find a way through it,” Deans said.
Deans’ Wild Knights will take on the Reds on Saturday as both teams continue their preparations for their respective seasons.
It will mark Les Kiss’ first game as Reds coach after returning from London Irish, with Wallabies Harry Wilson and Jock Campbell.
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