Ben Mowen has announced his decision to step down as captain of the Wallabies and ACT Brumbies and will likely accept a lucrative deal to play in France.
Despite a rapid rise to the role of captain three months after making his mid-2013 debut with Australia, Mowen’s decision will mean the 29-year-old will not be part of the Wallabies 2015 World Cup campaign.
Mowen stated a desire to spend more time with his immediate family, something he is not able to do while maintaining current travel commitments.
“It was an extremely rewarding year last year but obviously to get to that point you’ve got to spend a lot of time away from your family and my intent in life is not to do that, not to spend that much time away from them,” Mowen told reporters on Thursday.
“I’m extremely proud of what I got to achieve last year and the teams I got to be a part of.
Mowen said commiting to the demands of the World Cup lead up was not something he was willing to put his family through.
“… committing to two years of travel to get to that stage I just couldn’t do.
“Emotionally I couldn’t invest that in the side and you do have to emotionally invest in the team.”
Mowen won five of six Tests as captain after making his June debut and led the Brumbies to the Super Rugby final last season.
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said Mowen will still be considered for national team selection when Australia hosts France for three Test matches in June and the four-nation Rugby Champion stretching between August and October.
Quade Cooper’s run as deputy last year could see him replace Mowen as captain just a year after the fly-half was fined $60,000 and suspended three games for a social media rant describing the Wallabies as possessing a “toxic environment”.
Also in the running is the previously axed captain James Horwill and openside flanker David Pocock.
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