Mike Ruddock To Leave Post

[boxoid]

WRU Chief Executive Steve Lewis has announced that he has been notified by Wales head coach Mike Ruddock that he will not seek to renew his contract at the end of his current term...


did he walk or was he booted..... and if so, why?

[jungle]

He walked.

The reason officially is that he has a young family and didn't want to spend time away from them on tours etc.

If the WRU didn't offer him enough money, they need to hang their heads in shame.

[boxoid]

but surly they would leave him in place till the 6N is over

[jungle]

but surly they would leave him in place till the 6N is over
You'd think so. If they were going to appoint Scott Adams to the post, it would be no harm in getting the transition done immediately. After the 6 nations, they only have 5 more competitive matches before the world cup. It could also be a chance to try him out in a realistic environment.

[boxoid]

You'd think so. If they were going to appoint Scott Adams to the post, it would be no harm in getting the transition done immediately. After the 6 nations, they only have 5 more competitive matches before the world cup. It could also be a chance to try him out in a realistic environment.

very true,
but
i think that there is a little more to the story... we will find out as the day goes on i suppose.

[jungle]

very true,
but
i think that there is a little more to the story... we will find out as the day goes on i suppose.
I'd still stick with the belief he walked. The WRU is worse run than the FAI.

[boxoid]

I'd still stick with the belief he walked. The WRU is worse run than the FAI.

ya but how did they allow him to walk... As the FAI proved, you can force a man to walk.

[jungle]

ya but how did they allow him to walk... As the FAI proved, you can force a man to walk.
Why would you force him to walk after he won the Grand Slam last year?

[boxoid]

Why would you force him to walk after he won the Grand Slam last year?

exactly..... whats going on?

[liam2me]

he was forced. apparently the players told him that henson was no longer welcome, and when he told the WRU that he wasn't going to pick him,they sacked him

[boxoid]

he was forced. apparently the players told him that henson was no longer welcome, and when he told the WRU that he wasn't going to pick him,they sacked him`

ah yes, interesting

[boxoid]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk


Comment
By Mick Cleary
Mike Ruddock ought to have paid attention to The Godfather trilogy recently shown on television. How apt is that old Chinese saying repeated by the gangsters: "Keep your friends close to you but your enemies even closer."
Ruddock has been slain from within. He has lost the dressing room, and when that happens there is only one direction in which a coach is pointed - towards the exit. In a camouflage strategy that would have done justice to any SAS manual, signs of a growing rift in the camp were minimal. An appearance of domestic bliss on the outside; murderous busts-up behind closed doors.
Insiders testify to strain between coach and senior players dating back to the glory days of last season, when the mythical
Grand Slam made a triumphant journey across the Severn Bridge for the first time in over a quarter of a century and fanciful thoughts of World Cup success began to take shape in fertile minds.
Perhaps that might still come to pass. Perhaps the touch of the Australian, Scott Johnson, might work wonders. Several of the senior players seem to think so, for it is they who have lobbied for the Depardieu-type figure to be given more influence. Ruddock himself has highlighted the invaluable contribution of Johnson, an idiosyncratic figure with a caustic sense of humour and a keen eye for the subtleties of attacking play.
It is one thing, though, to be the court jester and style guru when someone else is in charge. It is quite another to be the main man with the buck on your desk. Ruddock lacked authority and incisiveness, say his critics.
There were those within the Welsh squad who resented the spotlight that was drawn to Ruddock in the wake of that historic Grand Slam. Tough. Those players should take a look at the scarred Welsh coaches who have been close to the asylum for the abuse they have taken. Coaches or captains tend to get too much praise when it goes well and too much blame when it all goes to the dogs.
The thought does occur that if Ruddock were supposedly that bad, then Wales would not have been that good.