RWC 2015: Argentina vs Australia preview - How Michael Cheika made the Wallabies better

The head coach has revolutionised Australian rugby in just 368 days. Here's how

Julian Bennetts
Saturday 24 October 2015 23:35 BST
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All attention: Head coach Michael Cheika tells the Wallabies exactly what he expects from them
All attention: Head coach Michael Cheika tells the Wallabies exactly what he expects from them

Michael Cheika has revolutionised Australian rugby in just 368 days. Since his appointment as the Wallabies’ head coach almost exactly a year ago, he has transformed the culture, playing staff and fortunes of a side who were in disarray. Beat Argentina and they will be in the World Cup Final – a scenario that was impossible to imagine under Ewen McKenzie, Cheika’s predecessor. So how has Cheika brought about that revolution?

The fear factor

Cheika has never been afraid to use some old-fashioned terror to inspire his players. “Why is he such a successful coach? Because everyone’s probably scared shitless of him, if I’m being honest,” explained the Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton, who played under Cheika at Leinster.

Cheika’s mid-game rants were so legendary in Ireland that Leinster considered moving the press box out of earshot, but the coach has adopted a slightly more measured approach with the Wallabies. There have been eruptions, but according to an insider he has looked to position himself as a father figure. The players don’t want to let him down, but there is still the fear of Cheika’s volcanic temper.

Ruthless pragmatism

“Michael Cheika is talented, bright, streetwise and ruthless,” said the former Australian Rugby Union CEO John O’Neill, and it is a sentiment echoed by many. Knowing the ARU had nowhere else to turn when looking to replace McKenzie, Cheika negotiated a 20 per cent increase on the original offer and refused to give up his job with the Waratahs Super Rugby team.

He also demanded complete control over player selection, giving the full-back Kurtley Beale one final chance after his role in the scandal that cost McKenzie his job. Beale’s performance against England justified that faith.

“He is a great leader, he knows how to get the best out of his players and he certainly does that for me,” said Beale. “His honest and straightforward approach gets the best out of me; I know a lot of the other guys react in a similar way.” Yet we have seen the ruthless side, too, in his refusal to pick the long-term stalwarts Nick Cummins and James O’Connor.

Bringing overseas players into the fold

Cheika’s pragmatism is also seen in his attitude to players plying their trade overseas. He felt he couldn’t win the World Cup without Matt Giteau, so he told the ARU chief executive, Bill Pulver, to change the eligibility rules. So while England prospect Steffon Armitage stayed with Toulon, his club-mate Giteau has been plotting Australia’s progress from inside-centre.

Sorting the scrum

Mario Ledesma is almost as intense as Cheika. The forwards coach has a habit of lying flat on his back and having the scrum pack down directly above him, giving the Argentinian a worm’s-eye view of the engagement.

Cheika insisted that Ledesma was hired, and the improvement in the scrum, previously a major weakness, has been marked. “Mario has the knowledge, technique and a philosophy, and the dedication to go to the end,” says Cheika of a man who is so passionate about his role he has become notorious for crying during team meetings.

“He is very effective at his job. He spends the time reflecting on what he is going to do, so he doesn’t just arrive at training and make up his mind there and say, ‘Let’s do this’.”

Instilling a culture

Cheika’s tactics in this regard have been remarkably similar to Stuart Lancaster’s with England, though with far greater success. He asked all the players to research their family tree, in order to understand their background and what it means to play for their country. Each player has since presented his story to their team-mates.

When it came to selecting his 31-man squad, he asked each member of the 1999 World Cup-winning side to call their equivalent in this year’s squad to give them the news. “I got a call from Phil Kearns,” said the prop Sekope Kepu. “It’s pretty humbling to get the word from somebody of that calibre who has done it before. There’s a lot of love here.”

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