Gazing out of a window in the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links Rod Macqueen is greeted by a familiar vista . . . sand, sea, bunkers, fairways and greens, images of home, images of Sydney, Australia. Cocooned from the outside chill of an October Irish morning, the sun-kissed setting must offer a comforting backdrop as the Australia coach marshals his squad in a quest for World Cup glory.
"I live on a golf course back home in Sydney. I've trained on it most of my life and when I switched over and decided that I was going to play golf, I thought it was going to be easy. Now I think I should go back to running."
Macqueen's self-deprecation belies his reputation as an intense, innovative and totally committed professional. That certainly is the view of those who know and respect the man who has guided his country's fortunes since September 1997.
He is known to his players at `Shanksey,' a sobriquet from his ACT Brumbie days. After one gruelling session, the players, who had been cooped up in a hotel watching the movie Braveheart for three days, came up with the nickname spawned by the villain of the piece, Edward I, known as Longshanks.
Everything hall-marked by the Macqueen stamp appears to blossom; from his multi-million pound company Advantage Line to a coaching curriculum vitae laden with achievement. Second best does not appear to be in his vocabulary. Whatever he approaches is pursued with vigour and commitment and perhaps, most importantly, an acknowledgement of his own limitations.
Macqueen does not covet power in its most disruptive form, the destructive penchant for meddling. Instead he prefers to delegate, surrounding himself with a top quality management team, manifest in assistant coaches, former internationals Jeff Miller and Tim Lane and technical adviser Alex Evans, a the former Wales and Cardiff coach.
"I am a great delegator as they will all tell you. I have done it all my life, in business and in sport. I am certainly not someone who can tell Steve Larkham how to sidestep or do a swift pass."
He advocates the theory that a coach can only flourish if he is cosseted in a management structure that allows him autonomy while providing the requisite assistance in terms of qualified personnel: "I think a lot of being a good coach depends on the quality of your support staff.
"I have the best available and therefore the players get the advantage of lots of different experts. `For example I am basically in charge of the Wallaby division, which includes the budget for the whole unit. We run it as a business, with the management team responsible for the day-to-day workings. It makes it a lot easier because we are not going through committees which I would find very difficult to do.
"I report directly to John O'Neill (ARU chief executive) who is very supportive. I don't handle the finances directly, but I am responsible at the end of the day. That's the only way I could work, it's the only way I have done in the past. I'm answerable if things aren't going well and that's the way it should be."
Macqueen's playing career incorporated 200 first grade games, including six years as captain of Warringah. He played for the Australian Barbarians and the Aussie Probable and Possible sides before finishing up in 1980.
His coaching pedigree is even more impressive. Beginning at Warringah (1986-'89), he then took over at New South Wales in 1991, winning 14 of 19 games. He then became an Australian selector in 1994 and '95 before taking over the helm of the fledgling ACT Brumbies side in 1996.
The Brumbies won seven of 11 games in the Super 12 that season, including victory over Auckland, only failing to make the play-offs on a lack of bonus points. The following year Macqueen guided his young side to the final (nine wins from 11) games before losing to Auckland at Eden Park. His team played entertaining rugby where a premium was placed on skill and entertainment within a winning context.
In September 1997 he replaced Greg Smith as national coach - beating former Old Belvedere and Queensland coach John Connolly. He enjoyed a far from auspicious debut when splitting a two-test series away to Argentina. Since then he has steered Australia to just five defeats in 24 tests against 10 nations. Australia retained the Bledisloe Cup this year for the first time since 1980.
Macqueen has forged a reputation as one of the most innovative and meticulous coaches in world rugby. So is he a screamer or the quiet man? "I'm very rarely a screamer. I think my job has generally been done the day before a match, it's really just about tying up a few things on match day. The way that we set it up is that the players are starting to run things themselves at that stage, so by the time they get on the pitch it is totally in their hands.
"My perspective is the big picture without being emotional. A match in which we are leading comfortably is probably when I am going to be the most vocal and I have surprised them (the players). I prefer to give them a bit of a wake-up.
"Most times the team comes in at the interval and has a pretty fair idea as to why they are behind. They don't need me screaming at them to tell them."
The 49-year-old, who turns 50 on New Year's Eve, advocates a certain style of rugby. "There is a bit of a personal philosophy, but you have to be realistic at the same time. I believe in creating a style around the players at your disposal, utilising their strengths. The manner in which Australia is playing is probably different to the style the Brumbies played. The game is changing so you have to be flexible.
"It is changing so quickly that I consider it a revolution rather than an evolution process. The structures in place have been geared for an evolutionary change. The alteration in modern rugby is far more radical. For example, Australia has just appointed a full-time defensive coach who came from rugby league.
"He does the Wallabies, the Schoolboys, the under-21s: that is how we are trying to handle the situation. The times ahead are exciting, players are bigger, stronger faster. The game can only get better, but you have to be sensible about it. There are still problems, like the breakdown and we have got to get it right. That has to be done by the people who understand the game not those who understand the laws."
Macqueen believes the role of the coach in the professional game now mirrors that of the soccer manager. "I suppose the main part of my job is the man-management of players and the direction of the management team and coaching staff. In some ways it is a bit like the soccer manager's role."
Life away from rugby and his business is relatively uncluttered. "For relaxation I go for a run (he's regarded as a fitness fanatic). I enjoy it because it gives me a bit of time to get away and clear my mind.
"Whenever I have had a bad back I've found it very difficult because I haven't been able to have a release like playing squash or going to the gym of out for a run."
One regret is that he is no longer afforded the luxury of his favourite past-time. "I have always ridden surf boats, but in the last few years that has been impossible. That's my other love, I've been involved in surf boats all my life, since I was 15. Surf boat rowing is very much a big part of Australian tradition. I used to do it in the summer months and in winter play rugby."
Despite a high profile he maintains that he can still enjoy rugby in a non-working context, without the compulsion to analyse.
"There is nothing better than being able to go to a match and enjoy a beer with friends. I can still do it, but not as often as I would like. If I am there in an official capacity I make sure that I am never drinking. I always remember the gin and tonic set when I was playing. I'm either there with a job to do or relaxing, I don't combine the two."
His ambition obviously extends to winning the World Cup, but he would also like to leave a positive legacy when he relinquishes the reins. "I want to leave a structure so that whoever follows me will benefit. Hopefully I will push Australia in the right direction to thrive in professional rugby."
For now his goals are more immediate and easily defined: to beat Ireland at Lansdowne Road tomorrow and take a step closer to bridging an eight year gap and a second Australian World Cup triumph.
