Cheika out of the running for NRL, Waratahs roles after joining English club
Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has signed as the new head coach of English rugby club Leicester, just days after former Brumbies coach Dan McKellar was sacked by the Premiership outfit.
The appointment spells the end of Cheika as a candidate for the Waratahs head coach vacancy, and puts an end - for now - to his aspirations of coaching in the NRL.
Cheika was linked with the South Sydney Rabbitohs job after Jason Demetriou’s axing in April, and was interviewed for the Parramatta Eels job as well. He has previously been linked with the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Wests Tigers, too.
The Tigers (the Leicester variety) announced on Thursday night they had signed Cheika on a deal of unspecified length. He will be joining the club with immediate effect and be head coach for the 2024/25 season, at least.
How we got here
After finishing up with the Wallabies in 2019, Cheika worked as a consultant with the Sydney Roosters and Argentina. In 2022, he became head coach of the Pumas, and he helped Argentina claim some major scalps, including beating the All Blacks for the first time in New Zealand, and a record victory over the Wallabies, too.
Michael Cheika shakes hands with Eddie Jones during a Argentina-Wallabies clash in 2023.
Having taken the Pumas to the semi-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup (which was his third consecutive finals appearance at a World Cup, after two qualifications with the Wallabies in 2015 and 2019), Cheika began looking for another job.
McKellar beat Cheika to the Leicester job last year but after the Tigers had a mediocre season and finished eighth, the club sacked McKellar last week. Cheika was immediately linked to the vacancy, and the speed of his appointment a few days later would indicate the club were well advanced with their plans. Former Wallabies scrum coach Dan Palmer, who was on McKellar’s staff, also resigned from the club on Thursday.
What impact does this have for Aussie rugby?
Cheika is out of the running for the Waratahs job, if he was ever seriously in it.
As the club’s only premiership-winning coach, Cheika was immediately touted as a potential saviour for the club after they claimed the wooden spoon and informed Darren Coleman his contract wasn’t going to be renewed.
But the Waratahs’ owners are Rugby Australia, and while acknowledging his ability to get quick success, there were reservations Cheika was not the right man for long-term stability. He had cursory contact with RA but it did not progress.
His forwards coach in 2018-19, Simon Raiwalui is set to unveiled as the new Waratahs’ head of performance on Friday. The leading candidates are Scott Wisemantel and McKellar.
What does it mean for Aussie rugby league?
Cheika has not hidden his ambition to coach in the NRL, but it won’t be in the near future.
Based on his success with Lebanon in the Rugby League World Cup, he is now routinely included as an option for NRL clubs who are searching for a coach.
The Dragons, the Tigers, the Rabbitohs and most recently the Eels, have all kicked the tyres on Cheika. But while he has respect, most clubs regard Cheika as a risk.
What was said?
“Honestly, I wasn’t looking at the Premiership and didn’t have the desire to coach in it until Leicester Tigers came to me. But, the opportunity to coach at Tigers and lead this group of players turned my head,” Cheika said on the Tigers website.
“You know, one minute I was looking at going to rugby league back in Australia, which is something I have always said I wanted to do, but after that didn’t work out and you get an opportunity like this, I feel very fortunate. A phone call from Leicester Tigers is one you take.”