New Australian rugby overlord Scott Johnson will make the Waratahs' round-seven clash with the Sunwolves his first order of business after touching down in Australia this week.
Johnson, Rugby Australia's new director of rugby and one third of the Wallabies new Test selection panel, starts work on Thursday.
Changes: new director of rugby Scott Johnson will be one of three official Wallabies selectors as well as Michael Cheika's boss. Credit:Jonathan Carroll
He will be based in Brisbane but spend much of his time on the road, according to RA chief executive Raelene Castle, "building relationships" and oiling the wheels of the organisation's new high performance model, which will rev into gear over the coming months.
On Friday he will take his first close look at Super Rugby since leaving Australia more than a decade ago, sitting in the stands at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle for the Waratahs' clash with axed Japanese side the Sunwolves.
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There will be much to take in for the former Wallabies assistant and Scotland head coach, who spent the past five years as Scotland's director of rugby. With a large brief, Johnson will be interested in the Waratahs' large cluster of Test players, but also some of their up-and-coming talent and the team's four coaches, all of whom are still in the early stages of their careers.
Johnson will also give his first interviews on home soil, giving Australian rugby fans their first look at what his vision will be for the Wallabies and Australia's broader high performance program.
If his parting interview in Scotland was any indication, the Australian will not shy away from making tough calls. He was controversial in some parts of his former home, viewed as a shadowy figure with little accountability.
"Everyone wants to be liked but I'm not in the job just to be liked. I'm not a politician," Johnson told BBC Scotland last weekend.
"People that make these comments don't know me and that's fine, they're entitled to their opinions. The intention was to get it (Scottish rugby) right and I think we did far more right than wrong."
After two years as interim head coach, Johnson handed over the reins to his appointment Vern Cotter. Cotter and his successor, Gregor Townsend, went on to recast Scotland as a competitive power in the international landscape, the team infamously going down to Australia in a controversial 2015 World Cup quarter final.
Scott Johnson will watch the Waratahs play the Sunwolves in Newcastle on Friday night.Credit:PA
Domestically the country's provincial teams also improved, Glasgow winning the old Pro12 title in 2015 and Johnson recruit Richard Cockerill helping transform Edinburgh. Both teams are in the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup this season for the first time.
"Our improvement has been as great as anybody else's," Johnson told the BBC.
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