Jones and Easterby in the frame as Wilson quits Blues
CARDIFF BLUES are ready to consider a host of big rugby names as their new coach after confirming Danny Wilson will leave the Arms Park at the end of this season.
Wilson was heavily linked with English giants Northampton at the weekend and his decision will intensify speculation linking him with a possible move.
The Blues say a search for Wilson’s successor will begin with immediate effect and already a number of candidates are being linked with the post.
Among them are two Scarlets legends, former skipper Simon Easterby and ex-Wales No10 Stephen Jones.
Easterby left the Scarlets three years ago to become Joe Schmidt’s assistant with Ireland and has helped deliver outstanding success, with victories over South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Jones, whose home is in the Welsh capital, has been a huge hit with the Scarlets as backs supremo, the west Walians stylishly racing to last season’s PRO12 title.
He would be viewed as an exciting appointment by the Blues, but persuading the Scarlets to release him from his contract may prove very difficult.
Other possible names in the frame include Shaun Edwards, Warren Gatland’s No.2 with Wales, who was appointed as a part-time defence consultant by the Blues for this season.
He had experience as a head coach with Wasps, combining his role with them with that of Wales defence guru.
Former England and Scotland boss Andy Robinson, who was Lions forwards coach in 2001 and 2005 and has coached Bath and Bristol, may also be interested in the opportunity of turning around one of Europe’s most powerful rugby entities.
If the Blues look to appoint from within, Wales’ record cap-holder Gethin Jenkins and former skipper Matthew Rees could come into the frame.
Blues chief executive Richard Holland said of Wilson: “It is disappointing that Danny has decided not to take up the offer of a new contract and will not be part of our strategy moving forward.
“We will begin the process of finding a successor immediately, and we will consult key individuals to ensure we make the right appointment for Cardiff Blues.”
Wilson himself said: “This was obviously a very difficult decision to make, and I am very grateful to Cardiff Blues for the opportunities they have given to me.
“I will be fully committed to Cardiff Blues for the remainder of my time here and am solely focused on this weekend’s match with Munster.”
Wilson became the Blues’ head coach in 2015, replacing New Zealander Mark Hammett. He previously worked as forwards coach with Newport Gwent Dragons and Scarlets. He has also coached Wales at Under-20 level, and was part of the Bristol coaching team before joining the Blues.
SO, it’s official, Danny Wilson will be leaving Cardiff Blues at the end of this season. But what are the reasons behind his departure and where does that leave the Blues for the remainder of the campaign and beyond? Let’s cut to the chase, why is Wilson leaving? Well, there are various factors, but the key one is finance.
There was an option for Wilson to extend his contract into a fourth year and the Blues were keen for him to stay on board.
But, before making his mind up, he wanted to know what money he’d have to play with next season.
The playing budget currently stands at around £4.95m, down a couple of hundred thousand or so from what was originally planned, as a result of Springbok lock Franco van der Merwe being released due to financial issues.
As I understand it, the proposal from the board for next term was a playing spend of around £4.8m, with some additional resource being made available on the coaching side.
After considering what he’d have to spend, Wilson decided not to sign a new deal.
Clearly, the difficult summer he went through – losing his prime international recruit amid the spectre of cost-cutting and squad trimming – would have been in his mind in terms of his readiness to stay on.
Exactly what it would have taken to keep him on board is uncertain, but one would imagine it would have required a playing budget of around £5.3m, along with further investment on the coaching front.
That wasn’t on the table, with chairman Peter Thomas having been pretty clear he is not prepared to keep dipping further into his pocket.
So, there has been a parting of the ways, which I am told was amicable. So, what’s this about Northampton being linked with Wilson? It was reported over the weekend that the Saints wanted to bring Wilson on board as forwards coach.
They are clearly ambitious to push for honours, having signed Wales fly-half Dan Biggar, and Wilson would be a quality addition to their management team.
It’s odds on that other clubs will also be interested in acquiring the services of a man who is renowned as a very accomplished set-piece guru.
You only have to listen to Wales prop Samson Lee talk about the part Wilson played in his development to understand just what a gifted technical coach he is, while the Blues have been good to watch at their best under him.
The former hooker from WestonSuper-Mare hasn’t signed with anyone yet, but there is unlikely to be a shortage of offers and he will be considering his options over the coming weeks and months. What about the rest of this season at the Blues? How is that going to work? Well, Wilson is contracted until the end of the campaign and the Blues are adamant he will remain at the helm for the full duration.
It will clearly be a somewhat unusual situation, with everyone knowing he is on his way, but a lot of rugby is to be played.
Getting the best out of players in that scenario is easier said than done and one can only imagine what they are thinking at the moment.
It’s been a difficult start to the season, with the first three league games ending in defeat, ahead of last weekend’s victory over Connacht.
That win in Galway provided hope that a corner had been turned, but just days later we have this bombshell news.
Wilson will look to do a professional job and leave on a good note, but it’s obviously not an ideal scenario and it could become difficult if results go poorly. Only time will tell exactly how things work out and how the Blues fare over the coming months.
Whether he does actually stay in charge through to next May remains to be seen. Who will replace Wilson as head coach? The Blues have announced that a search for a suitable successor will begin with immediate effect.
That inevitably got us thinking in the office about potential candidates and there have been a few interesting names bandied around.
You’ve got former Scarlets boss Simon Easterby, who is currently with Ireland, ex-England and Scotland coach Andy Robinson and former Bath and Toulon chief Mike Ford.
Mark Anscombe – the father of Blues fly-half Gareth – was another name that cropped up, with the Kiwi having recently left his job with Canada.
Stephen Jones would clearly be an appealing option, given the outstanding job he has done as Scarlets backs coach, helping them to the PRO12 title.
Alternatively, if the Blues look to promote from within, they have attack specialist Matt Sherratt, who has had a spell with Wales, while Shaun Edwards is also on the coaching staff in a consultancy capacity.
And then there’s always the option of going with a senior player such as Gethin Jenkins, a route they went down before when they appointed fellow Wales prop Dai Young. What does the long-term future of the Blues look like? Uncertain.
It’s been a volatile six months or so at the region and this is another seismic event.
When Wilson was appointed on a three-year deal in the summer of 2015, the talk was of the need for a period of stability after the toing and froing on the coaching front since Dai Young’s departure.
We’ve had that for a couple of seasons, amid signs of improvement on the pitch and of young talent starting to come through.
At times, the Blues have played some of the best rugby in the post-Young era, with the Judgement Day demolition of the Ospreys perhaps the high point.
When they’ve had pretty much their strongest team on the pitch, they have been a match for most teams and played some really attractive, high-tempo stuff.
But the problem has been the strength in depth which has left them vulnerable to injuries to key men and liable to inconsistency in terms of results.
Wilson has been well aware of this and of the need for reinforcements in certain areas.
But that costs money and therein lies the rub.
Towards the end of last season, it became clear there were growing stresses on the financial front.
In May, Peter Thomas sent shockwaves through the game when he announced plans to hand the Blues franchise over to the Welsh Rugby Union from July 1.
The idea was the WRU would take on responsibility for the rugby operation – and the consequent financial burden – enabling the Blues board to focus on the proposed redevelopment of the Arms Park.
But the takeover deal fell through over the financial settlement. Thomas would have had to pay out in excess of £1m to the Union to cover liabilities, including squad commitments, and the terms just weren’t acceptable to him. There was also the issue that transferring the rugby business would have required the approval of the Cardiff Athletic Club and the idea of a WRU takeover didn’t go down well with some supporters, particularly amid concerns over the Cardiff name being ditched in a mirror version of what has happened with Newport at the Dragons.
With the deal not going ahead, there were financial implications. It left Thomas faced with a sizeable personal outlay to meet the agreed playing budget of around £5.1m, against a backdrop of reduced income, with the BT naming-rights sponsorship of the Arms Park coming to an end.
The end result was a tightening of the belt, with the board deciding to release international signing Van der Merwe before he had played a game for the region.
There was talk of further possible cost-cutting and other star players leaving. While that was staved off, with
the South African TV money proving crucial, it was a pretty turbulent summer and it would have left it’s mark on Wilson, who would no doubt have started to question his long-term future at the region. That future has now been decided. What the future holds for the Blues is another matter. It may well be that a WRU takeover comes back on the agenda at some point and that might be more likely if there is a reduced playing budget for next season and thereby less liabilities.
There are some 20 players out of contract at the end of this campaign and one can expect a fair bit of movement.
But ultimately, much depends on how Peter Thomas sees the future. I know he feels there needs to be increased WRU funding of the regional game to reduce the burden on individual benefactors.
Whether that would be forthcoming at the Blues without greater Union control is questionable. So once again we come back to whether Thomas would be ready to hand over the reins.
He has poured millions into Cardiff rugby over the past two decades to keep it afloat, with some 10 different coaches coming and going, the latest being Wilson.
As ever, he remains a pivotal figure in what the future holds, both on and off the field, with the projected multi-million pound Arms Park redevelopment a constant factor in the background.
In terms of the WRU, everything I hear tells me they are prepared to step in if the situation arises, but clearly that hinges on Thomas and the Blues board.
The Union can play something of a waiting game, knowing the RSA and current franchise agreement is up in 2020.
So, there you have it, for now. Keep watching this space, as there’s never a dull day reporting on the Blues!