Wallabies great Stephen Larkham and forwards coach Laurie Fisher have emerged as clear cut favourites to take over as Brumbies head coach following the shock resignation of Jake White.
The two assistant coaches have spent about a decade together at the Super Rugby club, dating back to Larkham's playing days when Fisher was both assistant and head coach.
But the apprentice could soon become the master - and both have gone on the record saying they wouldn't have a problem with that arrangement.
Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan all but confirmed to ABC radio on Thursday that one of the two would fill the void following South African White's shock decision to leave with two years remaining on his contract.
With 127 caps as a Brumbies player, World Cup-winning playmaker Larkham is the team's attack coach while Fisher, who was head coach between 2005-08, has handled the forwards under White.
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"We've got two head coaches in waiting, effectively, and I think it would be unlikely that we would go outside the group," Fagan said.
"We're not looking for change. We're looking to continue to evolve what's in place."
Overlooked for the Wallabies head coach role in July in favour of Ewen McKenzie, a disappointed White decided his future lay back in Cape Town near his two sons.
It comes just two months after the World Cup winning coach guided the Brumbies to the grand final.
Fagan will join a sub-committee of up to five people to lock-in a new coach, and they might also look at recently sacked Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
Yet Brumbies captain Ben Mowen said the playing group would be more than content for one of the two assistant coaches to get the nod.
"I would think between Bernie (Larkham) and Laurie that there's more than enough experience and direction," said Mowen, who's in Cape Town for the Wallabies' Test against South Africa on Saturday.
"It would be reasonably seamless for the group."
White, who coached the Springboks to the World Cup in 2007, had confided in his captain over the past few weeks with the pair meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Mowen initially hoped to convince him to stay on, but changed his mind.
As well as taking the Brumbies from competition easy-beats to Australian conference champions in his two seasons, White helped launch the Test careers of up to 12 players, including Mowen.
White has been linked to Cape Town-based Super Rugby side the Stormers, but it's believed the Brumbies could block the move if they wish to do so due to a contract clause.
