Ewen McKenzie quits before Wallabies' loss

TITLE-winning New South Wales Waratahs coach Michael Cheika looms as the Australian Rugby Union's number-one target to guide the Wallabies to next year's World Cup.

Cheika is the favourite to replace Ewen McKenzie, who sensationally quit as his team produced their best performance of the year but fell 29-28 in a Bledisloe heart-breaker on Saturday night.

Within hours of McKenzie's resignation letter being emailed to ARU boss Bill Pulver, the governing body's five-man Rugby Committee met to discuss who should be the new coach.

ARU chairman Michael Hawker, former Wallabies Brett Robinson, John Eales and Paul McLean, and leading official Ben Whitaker are on the committee which has only has a couple of days to appoint a new coach.

The Wallabies fly to Europe for their five-match tour on Friday and a squad had been scheduled to be selected by Tuesday.

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