Will former coach come back to haunt Wales?

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FORMER Wales and Ospreys coach Scott Johnson is on a collision course with his former WRU employers at next year’s World Cup after being unveiled as Australia’s new director of rugby.

But Sydney-born Johnson, one of the key men behind Wales’s 2005 Grand Slam under head coach Mike Ruddock, will not be able to take up his role until March 2019 as he is contracted with the Scottish Rugby Union for the Six Nations.

Johnson last worked with Australia back at the 2007 World Cup as attack coach under John Connolly, but left when the former Swansea RFC boss was replaced by Robbie Deans.

And he’s been touted in recent weeks as a possible successor to under-fire Wallabies coach Michael Cheika after a shocking year that yielded just four wins from 13 Tests.

However, Rugby Australia has confirmed that Cheika will continue as Wallabies coach through to the 2019 World Cup but he will have his power reined in by the appointment of Johnson as director of rugby.

Cheika will also have to work with a three-man selection panel that includes Johnson and one other candidate, who has not been decided on yet. Cheika and Johnson will also decide on the final make-up of Australia’s assistant coaches.

Johnson’s appointment now throws up the intriguing prospect of the man who was with the Ospreys from 2009-12 helping plot the downfall of Wales at the World Cup — the two countries are set for a massive Pool D showdown in Japan.