With the 2027 Rugby World Cup pools now drawn, the road to Australia has been paved, but how many of the current head coaches will still be steering the ship when the teams arrive on Australian soil?
It’s becoming more and more common in recent times for teams to change their coaches in the build-up to World Cups, a move from the old norm of giving those in charge the reins in the four years building up to the tournament and then the tournament itself.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup is a great indication of how times have changed with England, Australia and Wales all changing their head coaches before the tournament, with mixed results.
As we draw to the end of 2025, the respective unions will be doing their end-of-year reviews, which may well lead to a changing of the guard ahead of the final full year of international rugby before boarding flights to Australia.
We take a look at the five high-level coaching changes that could occur before then.
Scotland – Gregor Townsend
Scotland boss Gregor Townsend may have signed a contract extension through to the end of the Rugby World Cup, but the former fly-half’s position is far from guaranteed.
During the Autumn Nations Series, he needed to vehemently defend his position during a press conference after falling to defeats at the hands of New Zealand and Argentina, the latter resulting in his players’ being booed off the Murrayfield turf.
Even Scottish Rugby chief executive Alex Williamson had to defend Townsend’s role and explained that the board’s view that he is the best man for the job had not changed.
“We entered into the contract with Gregor with the full expectation he is going to take us through to the World Cup – that hasn’t changed,” Williamson told the BBC following Scottish Rugby’s annual meeting.
He added, “I think we have an outstanding coaching group. I think we saw some real progress in a number of areas, and I think there was lots to like, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that there was also some things that really didn’t go well in the heat of the moment.
“I think we should continue to be very confident that we’ve got a structure, a coaching group and an ideology about how we want to play rugby in Scotland that we should be confident about – and that’s where we are. I don’t foresee change there.”
While Williamson is rather convincing, it would not be the first time that a board member has come out to defend a coach before letting them go soon after, just ask Eddie Jones.
Reports state none would be surprised if Townsend was ousted from Edinburgh before the Six Nations and he ends up at Kingston Park, coaching the Newcastle Red Bulls, whom he is already consulting.
Even if he were to hang onto the position until the Six Nations, another underwhelming campaign could be the final nail in the coffin. The board will react if their pockets are hit and the fans continue to voice their concerns, particularly at Murrayfield.
Franco Smith would be the obvious replacement and perhaps even lined up to take over from Townsend post the World Cup. That plan could be accelerated if things continue to go pear-shaped for Townsend.
Smith has repeatedly expressed his desire to return to the international fold with Glasgow Warriors and the Scottish Rugby Union managing to just about hang onto his services. The former Italy boss and Springboks assistant is constantly in hot demand when positions open up, and considering the fact that he is already on the books and held in high regard, it means he is a shoo-in to replace Townsend if they pull the trigger.
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Italy – Gonzalo Quesada
Stay with us here. Italy have been on an upward trajectory under former Stade Francais boss Gonzalo Quesada, so much so that Rassie Erasmus predicts that the Azzurri will have their best Six Nations campaign ever next year.
However, a report by RugbyRama states that Italy legend Sergio Parisse is being lined up to join the coaching team ‘in the near future’.
The Azzurri great has moved into coaching at RC Toulon after hanging up his boots, working as a skills and lineout coach for the Top 14 club.
It was reported that when Parisse announced his retirement, he was approached by the Italian Rugby Federation to join the national team’s coaching structures, but he declined the offer in order to prove himself in the club game first.
Now, we don’t predict that Quesada will be shown the door and Parisse taking over before the World Cup, but it would not come as a surprise if the legendary number eight were to take on a senior coaching role of the team, with the former taking on a more director of rugby position – a partnership akin to that of Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber during the 2023 World Cup.
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France – Fabien Galthie
It’s crazy to think that the 2025 Six Nations-winning head coach may not retain his position through to the Rugby World Cup, but Fabien Galthie is certainly under pressure.
This comes after an underwhelming tour to New Zealand and an equally disappointing Autumn Nations Series campaign.
It’s no secret that France rest their ‘Premium players’ during the July tours, which factored into the results, but November is a completely different story. The defeat to the Springboks in the grudge match from the 2023 World Cup quarter-finals left a sour taste for many, and while the win over Australia was entertaining, it wasn’t overly convincing.
The France job is a challenging one, and if Galthie’s charges don’t show improvements during next year’s Six Nations, it could be tickets for the former scrum-half.
Particularly if similar comments like the ones Denis Charvet made last month continue to be made.
“The way the match unfolded makes it seem like we put up a good fight,” Charvet said on RMC’s Super Moscato Show after the defeat to South Africa. “But when you analyse it in cold blood, you realise the thrashing we got. They humiliated us, crushed us.
“In the first half, one thing that struck me was the collisions. Every time we were pushed back, we were blown apart by tackles that were destructive. So you can’t say you dominated a team when they kept pushing you back, and you couldn’t make any difference with the ball in hand.
“When you’re a player, and you come off a match like that, you’re exhausted, and you don’t have the clarity to recognise (you’ve been thrashed). I think they’re going to review the match on video, and it’s going to be… A thrashing and a drubbing? I think that’s what Fabien Galthié is going to say.
“Erasmus plays chess, Galthié played checkers. Erasmus is always one step ahead; it’s incredible. What Erasmus does needs to be talked about; we need to focus on this man. For me, he’s a genius. He brings solutions to a group and a team in a way that few managers have been able to do.”
While Galthie is held in high regard, there is a sense that he could be losing some of that credit, and it would not be a complete shock if France were to make a head coach change so close to the tournament.
Who would replace him though? Ugo Mola would certainly come into the conversation, particularly considering the vast majority of the France squad is usually compiled of players from Toulouse. Whether the French Rugby Federation could secure his release, even short-term, would be an entirely different story.
Perhaps Bordeaux boss Yannick Bru? Or Stade Francais’ Laurent Labit, a former member of Galthie’s staff. Ronan O’Gara, anyone?
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Georgia – Richard Cockerill
The Georgian Rugby Union have reportedly made Brive boss Pierre-Henry Broncan their top target to replace Richard Cockerill and could well do so before the World Cup, but there are complications.
Broncan is set to leave PROD2 club Brive at the end of the season after he decided not to extend his contract. Last season, he became the director of rugby at the club but ultimately took on a more hands-on head coach position following the dismissal of David Darricarrère after a poor start to their campaign.
It is reported by Midi Olympique that he remains committed to seeing out the season with Brive before departing.
This means that Georgia would have to reach an unlikely agreement with Brive over an early release of Broncan, who served as an assistant coach of Eddie Jones during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
According to the report, Lelos may have to wait until the end of the French season to hire Broncan, who has been the top target to replace Cockerill.
It further states that the board has become dissatisfied with Cockerill’s work, particularly after they relinquished 12th spot in the World Rugby rankings to Japan ahead of the draw for the 2027 World Cup. That led to Georgia being drawn in Pool B alongside South Africa, Italy and Romania.
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Australia – Joe Schmidt
Unless Australia further delay Les Kiss’ takeover from Joe Schmidt, again, the Wallabies will have a new head coach before they host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Schmidt initially took over from Eddie Jones, signing until the British and Irish Lions, but the former Ireland head coach’s departure has been delayed twice since.
The most recent date set for Kiss to take over is the conclusion of the Nations Championship fixtures against Ireland, France and Italy.
His first game in charge is set to be the back-to-back matches against Japan.
This change has nothing to do with results, but rather the fact that Schmidt wishes to spend more time with his family.
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