‘Ongoing discussions:’ Larkham swats All Blacks rumours
Sebastian Tan |
Stephen Larkham says he’s in conversations with the ACT Brumbies to extend his coaching contract, batting away rumours of a potential move to the All Blacks.
Speculation linking Larkham to a New Zealand assistant coach role heightened after his Brumbies thumped reigning premiers the Crusaders 50-24 in Christchurch on Sunday.
But AAP understands the Wallabies and Brumbies great is not considering a move and the speculation is unfounded.
“This is home for me,” Larkham told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
“This is something I’m very passionate about. And there are ongoing discussions (with the Brumbies).
“I think it (wanting to stay at the Brumbies) is irrespective of the start of the season.”
Larkham’s Brumbies were prolific against the Crusaders, shutting out a star-studded attack to pick up a second consecutive bonus point win and top the Super Rugby ladder.
The victory came despite being without some mainstays such as Tom Wright (knee) and captain Allan Alaalatoa (back), while fellow Wallabies Len Ikitau, Noah Lolesio, and Tom Hooper left in the off-season.
Larkham’s contract with the Brumbies expires at the end of the season and the 51-year-old would appear a good fit for the Kiwis ahead of the Rugby World Cup next year.
The speculation followed former All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson being sacked by New Zealand Rugby last month, with fellow Kiwis Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie reportedly leading contenders to replace him, likely with new assistants.
But Larkham was solely focused only on another Kiwi side, the Blues, who the Brumbies host on Saturday night.
The coach believed his outfit have much to improve on from their Crusaders win, especially as they’ve only beaten the Auckland-based team twice in their past seven encounters.
“We looked at a number of things yesterday in our review,” he said.
“If you have a look at the aerial contest, we didn’t really get challenged because the wind was so strong on the weekend.
“But this year, we’ve seen a change of that kicking in to more contestable kicks, so we’re expecting that battle to come this weekend. So that’s certainly an area that we want to be better in.”
Larkham acknowledged uncertainty about how the Brumbies would fare going into the first round after they lost to the Waratahs and Force in their trial matches.
But any doubts have been cast aside, scoring a whopping 106 points in their initial two matches.
“There was a bit of doubt going into the first round out the back of the trials, in terms of where we are going to sit with all of these changes and experienced players that we lost,” he said.
“We’ve certainly spoken about connection and the ability to play the way that we’re playing.
“We put a lot of emphasis on the fact that connection is really key.”
AAP