Former Wallabies five-eighth Stephen Larkham has been given the thumbs up by Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen to take over the Super Rugby head coach role vacated by Jake White.

The South African sensationally quit the post with two years remaining on his contract just two months after steering the Brumbies to the grand final.

Overlooked for the Wallabies head coach role in July with Ewen McKenzie getting the nod, a disappointed White decided his future lay back in Cape Town near his two sons.

With 127 caps as a Brumbies player, World Cup-winning Larkham is the team’s attack coach while Laurie Fisher, who was head coach between 2005 and ’08, has handled the forwards under White.

Mowen said either could take on the top job.

“I would think between Bernie (Larkham) and Laurie that there’s more than enough experience and direction there,” said Mowen, who’s in Cape Town for the Wallabies’ Test against South Africa on Saturday,

“Those guys have been a huge driving factor in the performance and take so much of the sessions that if it was to be in that direction 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 of plans with the pair meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Mowen initially hoped to convince him to change his mind but then understood White’s perspective.

“His importance has shifted and it’s shifted to focusing on reconnecting with his two boys, Wes and Clint,” Mowen said.

“That balanced with the fact that the Brumbies program he leaves is in a really good space and he’s probably fast-tracked what he would have liked to have achieved over a four-year period into two.”

As well as taking the Brumbies from competition easy-beats to Australian conference champions in his two seasons, White has helped launch the Test careers of a number of players including Mowen.

“I definitely agree that the Brumbies program is in a really good spot,” Mowen said,

“We missed out on the finals last year by a point and made the final this year.

“In the two years that Jake’s had the team it’s gone from having three Wallabies to 15 or so and he’s done an enormous amount for those guys’ careers to put that in place.”

White has been linked to Cape Town-based Super Rugby side the Stormers.