Former Waratahs coach has taken risks to get ahead of the competition, and it's paying off
When the Reds began another Super 14 campaign with a loss there were the usual "here we go again" laments.
Others were more encouraged by the two-point loss to the Waratahs, they saw advances on a pretty sorry Reds record since 2003. In seven series, the Reds had not finished in the top half of the table.
Enter Ewen James Andrew McKenzie, the 44-year-old former World Cup-winning tight-head prop, only the second Victorian to play for the Wallabies, a coach who had served an apprenticeship at the Waratahs and Stade Francais. McKenzie was head coach of the Waratahs from 2004 to 2008. Prior to that he was an assistant at the Brumbies and with the Wallabies.
His arrival at the Reds was inauspicious. He lost test players Berrick Barnes and Hugh McMenamin in the off-season and captain James Horwill to a campaign-ending injury in the opening match. His squad was talented, but lacked experience. They needed guidance, cajoling, encouragement and bullying.
The coach known as "Link" has built the framework, he worked on strategies to suit the players' skills, he rewarded effort, he was both meticulous and prepared to gamble.
McKenzie gathered a small staff around him and set off on a campaign which has not seen him take a day off in the last six months. His family is still in Sydney while he has poured his energies into the Reds resurrection.
"We have not thrown money at this," McKenzie said. "We have a small budget, there is not a lot of downtime, but we all have high ambitions and expectations of ourselves.
"We did not come to this year to finish mid-competition. We had to go and find ways of being trendsetters, use our skills to stay ahead.
"We had a mentality of changing our gameplans, being a bit radical and taking some risks only because we wanted to get towards the top of the competition rather than playing catch-up.
"I wanted to change the mindset. One of the things we looked at were the law changes and what we could do with those for multiple-phase rugby."
McKenzie noted that defence was not a strength for the Reds and adjusted their attack ideas so they were not exposed when they coughed up turnovers. He also invested in squad retention, recruitment and contracting under-20 players who will push for Super 14 places in the next few years.
Former Wallaby captain, Reds coach and now commentator Andrew Slack says the improvement, like anything, came about following a combination of factors.
Players such as Will Genia and Quade Cooper had matured and sussed out the demands of such a tough series.
"But I also think you would be ignoring the truth if 'Link' did not get a lot of the praise for putting the hard edges on these guys. Even if the team was travelling at two wins and nine losses at this stage I don't think that would change anyone's admiration for him."
Senior players like Genia reinforced those impressions when they spoke about how McKenzie had set the levels, pre-season, about fitness and skills and had continued to push those standards.
His selections had also been astute, he has not been afraid to alter winning combinations.
"It is not a theory I've ever agreed with, I think it is dangerous to tinker, but it has worked a treat," Slack said. "And it seems the players and the team as a whole have accepted that's the way it is going to be."
Aside from a great work ethic, McKenzie is also renowned as a smart cookie, serious, but not afraid to experiment. He was painted as a conservative character with the Waratahs, but he was responding to the laws of that era and the players he had to work with.
McKenzie admitted he had been delighted by some players' responses who clearly were ambitious but had lacked direction. The Faingaa brothers, centre Anthony and hooker Saia, had been "outstanding" and been rewarded for their hard work.
Staff had developed leadership in the squad, they brought their values and distilled them to the players. McKenzie himself had come from a 35-game campaign in Europe with Stade Francais to the Super 14.
"The Reds have got the same ambitions as everybody else and it is a big step to come from 13th to somewhere. Year two will be tougher, but when you have been in a good space a few times, you understand that experience and know what's coming."
