It all makes perfect sense.
Matt O’Connor is barely 24 hours out of the Leinster hot-seat and, already, 24 names have been linked to the coaching role he vacates.
Conor O’Shea and Brian O’Driscoll have already ruled themselves out. Robbie Deans is in the country next week, with the Barbarians, and may have to answer questions about Leinster links.
Other men linked to the job [a few by us, admittedly] include Bernard Jackman, Jono Gibbes, Ewen McKenzie, Ronan O’Gara, Gregor Townsend and Pat Lam.
After talking to a couple of individuals closely linked to Leinster, however, SportsJOE believes the present inclination is to stick with Leo Cullen as caretaker coach, with a little help from Girvan Dempsey, until their number one target becomes available after the World Cup.
That target may well be Scotland coach Vern Cotter. If not, it should be.
Cotter, who was part of the Crusaders team that won Super Rugby titles in 2005 and 2006, led Clermont Auvergne to a Top 14 title in 2010. Under Cotter, Clermont also reached the 2013 Heineken Cup but fell short against Toulon.
The New Zealander’s contract with Scotland, which he took up in 2014, runs out after the World Cup.
Moving to Leinster would present Cotter with the chance to get involved with the day-to-day coaching that he prefers.
By taking the step back into club rugby, Cotter would take over a team made legendary by his former protege, Joe Schmidt. The pair remain in close contact and, if Schmidt has any influence or sway in matters, Cotter would be viewed as the perfect man to get the province back on track.
Ahead of this year’s Six Nations, Cotter said, ‘Joe’s much better than me!
‘This is what’s good about the games – we have a very solid friendship based on good and bad times we’ve had together.
‘We like to have a beer and talk about what our families are doing, but then I know he’s preparing his team to give us a tough time and obviously he knows I’m doing the same thing. So it’s done with utmost respect but within that there’s a very competitive nature.’
In return, Schmidt remarked, ‘I wouldn’t want to physically lock horns with him, he’s a big, strong man, and I think his nickname in France was ‘les yeux de glace’ – the eyes of ice. Because he didn’t even have to really say anything and he’d strike a bit of fear, and that was just with the coaching staff, let alone the players.’
Despite their middling 2014/15 campaign, Leinster are an attractive prospect. A swathe of top-class international players, a supportive union, strong fanbase and home ground that will expand to 25,000 by 2017.
The dream scenario, for Cotter, may be to take the reigns at Leinster while Joe Schmidt leads Ireland up until the 2017 Lions Tour, to New Zealand. Cotter is named as part of the coaching ticket and the pair then take over from All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and start plotting for World Cup 2019.
The Kiwis can fight over who gets the bigger office.
