DAVID SHAPSHAK, Sydney | Monday 11.00am.
QUEENSLAND rugby coach John Connolly said on Sunday that there was a “strong possibility” he would take over Natal Sharks but added he still had to decide whether to reapply for his current job.
Queensland ended this season’s Super 12 campaign in seventh place following Saturday night’s 33-26 win over the Auckland Blues in Brisbane.
The Queensland board has already advertised the coaching position for next season — which suggests Connolly’s 12th year in charge may well be his last.
He said he had yet to decide whether he would seek another year in office before applications for the job closed next Thursday. “It will probably become very political, whether I want to run that gauntlet I’m not sure,” Connolly said.
There has already been speculation linking him to the Sharks, who finished last in the Super 12 and managed just one win under first-year coach Hugh Reece-Edwards.
“I think the Sharks is a strong possibility,” Connolly said. Asked whether he had been contacted formally or informally by the South African franchise, Connolly said: “No, not really.” While he made it clear he would like to remain in Queensland, he suggested he would not be adverse to working interstate or overseas.
Speculation also has Connolly linked with New South Wales, whose current coach Ian Kennedy will have his position reviewed within 90 days of the Waratahs’ final representative game of the season next month. — AFP