Factbox: Ewen McKenzie

BORN: June 21, 1965, in Melbourne.

PLAYING CAREER: The former Wallabies prop started his career with the New South Wales Waratahs in 1987, playing 37 matches before switching to the Canberra-based ACT Brumbies where he was capped another 36 times.

McKenzie made his Australia debut against France in 1990 and played his last match for the Wallabies seven years later against England in 1997.

One of Australia's finest props, he won 51 Test caps and was part of the side that won the 1991 World Cup with a 12-6 victory over England in the final at Twickenham.

EARLY COACHING CAREER: McKenzie joined the Wallabies as an assistant to head coach Rod Macqueen in 2000 and later served under Eddie Jones, helping the team to two Tri-Nations trophies, a series win over the 2001 British and Irish Lions and a final appearance at the 2003 World Cup.

SUPER RUGBY: He took his first role as head coach when he succeeded former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer at the Waratahs in 2003.

The Waratahs reached the Super rugby final in only his second year in charge in 2005. He also took them to the semi-finals the following year and another final in 2008.

McKenzie quit the Waratahs after the 2008 final defeat and joined top French club Stade Francais, taking them to the Top 14 semi-finals in 2009.

He was abruptly sacked after a poor start the following season and returned home to take the reins of the Queensland Reds in 2010.

McKenzie quickly transformed the Brisbane side from cellar-dwellers to contenders and led them to their maiden Super Rugby title in 2011.

After taking the Reds to the playoffs in 2012, McKenzie announced earlier this year that he would leave the club at the end of the season to pursue an international coaching career.

McKenzie beat out rival candidate Jake White, a World Cup-winning coach with the Canberra-based ACT Brumbies, for the Wallabies post and was unveiled on Tuesday after the ARU announced Deans had stepped down.