For the first time, all of Australia's top professional coaches and high performance staff "will meet in one room to work out how to develop the next generation of Wallabies stars and reclaim major trophies" like the World Cup and Bledisloe Cup, according to Jamie Pandaram of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. The "unprecedented" two-day meeting in Sydney, on Wednesday and Thursday, will see Wallabies and Super Rugby coaches and assistants "undergo leadership training and profiling run by UTS' business faculty and the Australian Institute of Sport." It is the "brainchild" of Rod Kafer and Ben Whitaker. Kafer took up the role of head of special projects in the Australian Rugby Union's high performance department, which is run by Whitaker. Kafer said, "It is borne out of the fact that we had no Super Rugby wins against the Kiwis and 15 years of Bledisloe Cup losses. People at some point have got to say, 'Maybe we need to do something a little bit differently,' and I reckon we're at that point." Different leadership programs will be held for head coaches and assistant coaches of the four Australian Super Rugby franchises -- NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 10/9).
