Waratahs hero Cheika takes charge at wounded Wallabies

22 October 2014 05:46

No-nonsense coach Michael Cheika took over at the Wallabies on Wednesday vowing to rally the shell-shocked side after the stunning walkout of Ewen McKenzie.

The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) heaped praise on the 47-year-old at a press conference to announce his appointment just two days before the start of a tough five-match European tour.

"Central to our decision was selecting a world-class coach who can lead us to victory in next year's Rugby World Cup," said ARU chief executive Bill Pulver.

He described Cheika as "the only coach in history to coach both a European Cup winning side and a Super Rugby winning side".

"He is also extremely passionate and has a strong track record of motivating teams to win through plenty of hard work."

That record includes lifting the European Cup with Irish side Leinster in 2009 and the NSW Waratahs' maiden Super title earlier this year.

He was director of rugby with Stade Francais in Paris before returning to his hometown Sydney to coach the Waratahs, who had finished the 2012 Super 15 season in 11th place.

And the Arabic-speaking son of Lebanese migrants will need all of his skills to turn round the Wallabies side that has lost successively to South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand and seen star player Kurtley Beale stood down over a sordid text message affair.

"I am going to have to work hard and learn quickly but I am up for the challenge," said Cheika.

"I'll be doing my best, that's the only thing I can guarantee.

"My mission will be to do the best possible job I can and to motivate the people around me to ensure they are able to represent Australia to the best of their ability," he said.

- 'Strong identity' -

"I feel the key to any future success will be to ensure we have a strong identity and not letting anything get in the way of our preparation to succeed on the world stage."

But the mentor with a reputation for straight-talking said he did not want to talk about his Waratahs star Beale, who is up before a hearing on Friday in the latest in a series of off-field troubles which ultimately led to McKenzie's departure.

"I won't be answering any questions on that today. I don't want to prejudice anything that's going to happen with Kurtley in any way," said Cheika.

He is still contracted to the NSW Waratahs -- the team he in August steered to their first Super Rugby title in just his second season with the club -- until the end of 2015 and will retain that position while coaching the Wallabies.

McKenzie dropped his bombshell shortly after New Zealand narrowly beat Australia 29-28 in the final Bledisloe Cup Test in Brisbane, throwing the European tour into chaos, less than a year before the 2015 World Cup.

The Wallabies fly to Europe on Friday looking for a new start on a five-match tour, which includes Tests against Wales, France, Ireland and England, and kicks off against the Barbarians at Twickenham on November 1.

To take on Europe's finest, five debutants were included in Cheika's first squad unveiled shortly after his appointment.

The 33-man squad, led by 22-year-old Michael Hooper, includes three changes to the group that lost to the All Blacks last Saturday.

The tour sees the return of injured duo Matt Toomua and Ben McCalman and the inclusion of uncapped Melbourne Rebels back-row forward Sean McMahon.

He is one of five uncapped players alongside Western Force pair Tetera Faulkner (prop) and Kyle Godwin (centre), and wingers Henry Speight (ACT Brumbies) and Tom English (Melbourne Rebels).

Source: AFP