Former Australian rugby captain Simon Poidevin will take an open mind into the first meeting of the Wallaby coach selection panel on Wednesday, believing the best man or men should get the top job.

Poidevin was on Tuesday appointed as the third and final member of the panel chosen by the Australian Rugby Union to find the Wallabies new head coach following the sacking of Eddie Jones on Friday.

With the 2007 World Cup less than two years away, Poidevin admitted he and the rest of the panel had been given a hefty but exciting responsibility in finding the right people to take Australia back to the top of world rugby.

And he said, given the abundance of talent available both in and outside of Australia, there was no reason the head coaching position had to be a one-man job.

"In the modern day of rugby, one coach for the team is an erroneous task," said Poidevin, who was capped 59 times for the Wallabies and a member of Australia's 1991 World Cup-winning team.

"I think there's enough talent out there to spread the load across a number of people. We've got a lot of homegrown talent, and there's a lot of talent off shore as well.

"I think it's the best man for the job or the best combination.

"The panel's got to discuss the (coaching) structure and go from there, but clearly there's some precedents around the world that we're interested in."

Poidevin joins ARU high performance general manager Dr Peter Davis and former Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen on the panel.

ARU chief executive Gary Flowers echoed Poidevin's comments saying they would rule nothing out to ensure the future success of the Wallabies.

"I think what we've set ourselves a task is to appoint a head coach. If (a dual role) comes up, it comes up," Flowers told reporters.

"At this stage we are not closing off the option of an overseas coach, (but) obviously the preference would be for an Australian coach."

No timeline has been set for finding a new coach, but Flowers said the ARU hoped to formally advertise the position both in Australia and overseas before the end of the year.

After putting together a shortlist of candidates and conducting interviews, the panel was then hoped to deliver its recommendation to the ARU Board by February, but Flowers said the union was willing to wait longer to find the right coach.

NSW Waratahs Super 14 coach Ewen McKenzie is the early favourite for the top job.

But former ACT Brumbies coach and current Auckland Blues mentor David Nucifora has received the backing of both Jones and former Wallaby great David Campese in recent days.

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