The Ewen McKenzie coaching saga has highlighted a real flaw in the contracting system in our game at provincial level. And until it is fixed, we'll be having dramas every time a coach's deal expires.

For a long time we've had players trying to get out of contracts early to go to the northern hemisphere, but the situation is twice as bad for coaches.

At the moment, contracts for Super 14 coaches expire in June, so if your tenure is coming to an end, your name needs to be out there by March or April if you want a job in Europe. I was in Ewen's situation in 2000 and was very fortunate that a position became available at Stade Francais, so I jumped on board.

I'm a huge supporter of "Link" and I believe he's done a very good job at the Waratahs. But he's in a tough position. The board, which has copped plenty, was also in a tough spot when it deciding on his future in March.

NSW struggled last year and McKenzie, wanting to look after his family, was concerned about his future. I understand he approached the board and asked it to reappoint him immediately. But the board members didn't, and the decision has come back to bite them. They have been vilified by all and sundry, but around the end of March, perhaps it was the only decision they could have made.

Politics has always played its part in Australian rugby and everyone has weighed into the McKenzie situation. Eddie Jones has accused John O'Neill and the ARU of controlling NSW. Maybe there's some truth in it - I'm not sure. Jeff Miller - one of O'Neill's advisers from the ARU - has been appointed to the NSW selection panel. You do have to wonder how he ended up in that position.

What made it worse was that O'Neill waded into the argument during the week, criticising the NSW board. Whether the damage he caused can be repaired in the short term remains to be seen. John should have stayed out of it, but it's not easy keeping him away from a microphone.

People have drawn parallels between McKenzie's plight and that of David Nucifora at the Brumbies. But the situation is different. There was an impasse between the players and officials over Nucifora, which forced him out. McKenzie, on the other hand, is popular with the majority of players, the public and the board.

But what has staggered me most is why McKenzie wasn't pursued to head up the ARU's high-performance unit. He is very well suited to the position but never got past first base at the ARU. Very puzzling.

McKenzie has yet to stitch up a deal with Stade Francais and there are still a couple of jobs available in Europe. So for all intents and purposes, he's still available for NSW. Only he and Chris Hickey are the realistic contenders for the Tahs. It's up to the board now to asses Ewen's interest in continuing and then to decide between McKenzie and Hickey.

The problem for McKenzie is he would have to rebuild his whole coaching staff after being shown the door. But he's done it before and could do it again.

The people choosing the coach have NSW's best interests at heart but they just don't have the professional rugby experience. NSW have two former Australian coaches in Rod Macqueen and Bob Dwyer available - yet neither of them have been consulted.

Hopefully they'll make the right decision in the end.