While the hunt for Joe Schmidt’s successor continues, ex-Wallabies coach Michael Cheika appears to be keen on the job after reportedly meeting with Rugby Australia (RA) boss Phil Waugh recently.
According to a report in The Roar, Cheika met Waugh at a restaurant in Sydney on Tuesday morning.
Cheika is believed to be in Sydney on a brief visit before returning to England where he will finish his stint as the head coach of Premiership outfit Leicester Tigers within the next four months.
RA confirmed earlier this month that current Wallabies coach Schmidt extended his contract, which was set to expire after the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour to Australia, before stepping down from the position at the end of this year’s Rugby Championship.
An experienced head coach
Although other current Australian Super Rugby Pacific head coaches like Dan McKellar (Waratahs) and Les Kiss (Reds) have emerged as potential frontrunners to replace Schmidt, what counts in Cheika’s favour is that he is a very experienced Test coach having coached Australia from 2014 to 2019 and Argentina from 2022 to 2023, after initially serving as an assistant coach with Los Pumas in 2020 and 2021.
And what could count in the 57-year-old’s favour for the Wallabies job is the fact that he guided them to the 2015 Rugby World Cup final, which they lost to the All Blacks, while Argentina also lost to the same opposition in a semi-final at the global showpiece in 2023 while Cheika was their coach.
Waugh said recently that he is hoping to find Schmidt’s successor as Wallabies coach within the next few weeks and said he is happy that there is plenty of interest in the position.
“We’re happy with the progress being made regarding the appointment of the next Wallabies head coach,” he told The Roar.
“We have worked extensively to identify a targeted shortlist of candidates whom we believe are best placed to continue the strong progress made under the coaching of Joe Schmidt.
‘Interest from quality candidates from around the world’
“We have also received a high level of inbound interest from quality candidates from around the world, reflecting the positive trajectory of the Wallabies.
“We are incredibly excited for the Test against Fiji, the British and Irish Lions series and The Rugby Championship under Joe before an orderly transition ahead of Tests against Japan and the Autumn Nations series later in the year.”
McKellar is also a former Leicester Tigers head coach but parted ways with the club by mutual consent at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Cheika took over the coaching reins at the Tigers last June but only signed a one-year contract with the Premiership heavyweights and last month it was announced that he will step down from his position at the end of the current campaign.
After it was confirmed that Cheika would be departing from the Leicester Tigers position, it was reported that he has made the decision to return to Australia to be with his family in Sydney despite enjoying his time with Leicester and the club wanting to extend his contract.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/joe-schmidts-successor-hunt-heats-up-as-ex-wallabies-boss-spotted-meeting-with-rugby-australia-chief
