Foley honoured but sticks to Force
It was a bolt out of the blue but Western Force mentor Michael Foley said he was honoured to be asked to return to the Wallabies coaching team.
But felt he could not do justice to the Force if he joined the northern hemisphere tour which starts next week.
However, he has not ruled out helping with the national side in the future. Foley was asked by new coach Michael Cheika on Monday if he would join his support staff as forwards coach - a role he held from 2006-2008.
He slept on the offer but decided to turn it down.
"I felt I had to do the right thing by the club," Foley said.
"To be asked to represent Australia was a massive honour and it had great appeal, particularly working on a significant project.
"My role as head coach at the Force requires me to be here and I didn't feel I could do justice to the staff and players by not being here.
"When I spoke to Michael we discussed that I could maybe help down the track as long it didn't impact on the Force.
"The challenge at the Force is something I love and I don't want to feel that I haven't given it everything it deserves."
