Argentina’s Australian head coach Michael Cheika looks on ahead of the Autumn International rugby union match between England and Argentina at Twickenham Stadium, south-west London, on November 6, 2022. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP)
Wallabies contemplate getting back together with another ex
CEO Phil Waugh has refused to rule out the idea of Michael Cheika rejoining the Wallabies as head coach.
Argentina’s Australian head coach Michael Cheika looks on ahead of the Autumn International rugby union match between England and Argentina at Twickenham Stadium, south-west London, on November 6, 2022. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP)
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh has refused to rule out the idea of Michael Cheika rejoining the Wallabies as head coach.
The position of Wallabies coach remains open following Eddie Jones’ departure following a catastrophic year for Australian rugby.
Wallabies to contemplate getting back together Cheika
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Jones led the Wallabies’ worst-ever Rugby World Cup campaign, which saw them fail to advance beyond the pool stages for the first time. He was later named Japan’s new head coach, a position he reportedly interviewed for on the eve of the World Cup.
Cheika has stood down as Argentina’s head coach and will be replaced by his assistant, Felipe Contepomi, a former Los Pumas international.
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Cheika took over as Argentina coach after Mario Ledesma left in 2022, and led the team to their first victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand and the Wallabies in Australia and also England at Twickenham. Argentina reached the World Cup semi-finals before losing to the All Blacks in the final and ending fourth overall.
“Everyone’s in the hunt, to be fair,” Waugh told AAP when he was asked if Cheika could be in contention to be the next Wallabies coach.
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“We haven’t gone to market with it yet. We’re hoping to announce our high-performance director this week and then get in the process of going to market for a head coach.
“We’re certainly not advanced in conversations, or in any conversations with anyone really.”
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Due process
Rugby Australia do not want to put the cart before the horse and are rumoured to be holding off on hiring a new coach until they can install a high-performance director.
World Rugby’s director of high-performance Peter Horne is rumoured to be the choice candidate for that role.
Waugh had previously stated that RA hoped to have the role filled by Christmas.
“It’s a big job,” Waugh said as quoted by the Roar. “It’s the biggest job on my leadership team in terms of the impact it has on the general sentiment around the game.”
