By Rich Freeman,
The vacant head coach position with the Japan national rugby team took another twist Friday with John Kirwan telling Kyodo News he has had no contact with the Japan Rugby Football Union.
Kirwan, who led the Brave Blossoms from 2007 to 2011, has been mentioned in a number of media reports as one candidate to replace fellow former All Black Jamie Joseph, who has stepped down after seven years in charge.
In a phone call to Kyodo from Italy, Kirwan expressed surprise that his name had been included in recent reports. But he said he would be willing to get involved in another capacity.
"I have realized I am not so much a technical coach as a manager," he said. "So if the JRFU wanted someone to come in and oversee the whole program and hire the coaches and organize the whole system and do all the media work, then I would be keen to talk."
Kirwan -- who played for NEC (now Tokatsu) Green Rockets from 1997 to 1999 and coached them from 1999 to 2001 -- said he would be quite happy to return and live in Japan, one of the requirements the JRFU has put in place for whoever ends up running the national team.
He also made it clear he thought current assistant coach Tony Brown should be kept on in some capacity.
Unlike Joseph and defense coach John Mitchell, Brown, who was in charge of attack, has yet to say where his future lies. Joseph is returning to the Highlanders to be their director of rugby, while Mitchell is the new head coach of the England women's team.
Kirwan is not the only former Japan coach to be in the frame as Joseph's successor.
A number of reports from Australia, Japan and England have said Eddie Jones is set to quit his role as head coach of Australia and return to the job he held from 2012 to 2015.
Jones has denied this on a number of occasions -- most recently on Friday when he returned to Australia following the Wallabies' exit from the ongoing Rugby World Cup in France. Jones is contracted with Rugby Australia until 2027.
The JRFU, meanwhile, have consistently refused to make any comment on the ongoing process other than "We have a policy that we won't disclose any information about candidates (any name of an individual or selection status) until we finalize the announcement of the new head coach."
Among the other names thought to be a candidate is Frans Ludeke, who led Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay to the Japan Rugby League One title this past season.
Related coverage:
ANALYSIS: Rugby: Japan fly home from France with several "what ifs"
Rugby: Jamie Joseph pleads for Tier 2 nations to get more shots at best
Rugby: Japan miss out on World Cup q'final spot
