Former Test duo part of Rugby Australia review into Wallabies’ disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign
The Wallabies form a huddle during their Rugby Championship Test with Argentina in Sydney.
Rugby Australia (RA) have announced that former Test duo Andrew Slack and Justin Harrison as well as high-performance expert Darlene Harrison have been appointed to conduct an external review into the Wallabies’ 2023 season.
Slack, a former Australia captain and centre who represented his country in 39 Tests, led the Wallabies on their Grand Slam-winning tour of Europe in 1984 and during the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup.
Justin Harrison made 34 Test appearances for the Wallabies and is also Australia’s Rugby Union Players’ Association chief executive while Darlene Harrison is a former Australian Institute of Sport deputy director (performance, people and teams).
The trio will be joined by a Pasifika advisor who will also support the panel and process.
“As Rugby fans, we were all disappointed in the results at the World Cup – the performance was not good enough for a proud Rugby nation like ours,” said RA chief executive Phil Waugh in a statement.
“Andrew, Justin and Darlene are highly respected, and I believe they possess the credentials to be able to deliver a thorough and considered external review.”
Poor form in 2023
Australia had one of their least successful years in history, winning just two of their nine internationals – against tier two nations Georgia and Portugal – during 2023.
Their Rugby World Cup campaign went pear-shaped as they missed out on the World Cup play-offs for the first time in the global showpiece’s history after defeats against Wales and Fiji.
That resulted in Wallabies boss Eddie Jones resigning from his position earlier this week after taking over the coaching reins from Dave Rennie in January.
“The Wallabies have a proud history as one of Australia’s most loved sporting teams, and it is our responsibility as custodians to continually seek to improve performance and deliver a world-class program,” Waugh added.
The panel’s aim is to deliver its recommendations to the Rugby Australia board before the end of this year.
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