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BRISBANE - Support for former Australia coach Alan Jones to return to the job grew on Thursday with the backing of former internationals Stephen Larkham and Mat Rogers.
Queensland Rugby Union Chairman Peter Lewis suggested on Tuesday that Jones, now the host of Sydney's highest-rating radio show, would be the ideal person to replace John Connolly, and both Larkham and Rogers said there was merit to that idea.
"Alan is a very smart man and I'm sure he has got some good ideas," said Larkham, who retired from international rugby after the World Cup in France.
"He came in and had a chat with us before one of our Test matches - he certainly keeps in contact with a lot of the players.
"From what I remember, he also had some good ideas, was a bit of a lateral thinker and he offers probably a little bit different a coaching style to some of the coaches that are running around."
Rogers, a dual union and league international, said Jones, who guided the Wallabies to the 1987 World Cup semifinals but has not coached rugby for 20 years, would be a refreshing change to the modern day coaches.
"The more I think about it .... this really could be a masterstroke."
He said the other candidates - Ewen McKenzie, Laurie Fisher, Scott Johnson, John Muggleton, David Nucifora and Robbie Deans - were "all from the same stale mould".
"There is an old saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result," Rogers said.
"I challenge the Australian Rugby Union to do something different. Give Alan Jones the Wallabies coaching job. I think he'd be brilliant.
"In fact, give it to him right now and let him get started with the shake-up."
- REUTERS
