Turn the other Cheika: Stan insights cast coach in different light to final Wallabies days

One of the best things about Super Rugby AU this year has been watching Michael Cheika’s analysis of the games on the Stan coverage.

The former Waratahs and Wallabies coach has been a compelling presence, because he is so clearly an active coach who remains in the game, emotionally and intellectually, despite currently being out of it.

David Campese (left) and Michael Cheika have been part of Stan’s coverage of Super Rugby AU.Credit:Nine

Overlay that with the fact he has had to weave that narrow and difficult path between analysis and criticism, especially when it comes to the Waratahs, and Cheika’s appearances have become must-watch affairs.

Have his appearances been job applications for the now-vacant Waratahs job? Not intentionally, of course, but Cheika’s comments on Rob Penney not being used as a scapegoat won’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched him during Super Rugby AU.

In fact, those “no scapegoat” comments are entirely in keeping with the narrative he has built on Stan, when he struck a balance between criticism and insight.

Of course, he would have been a hypocrite if he had taken the verbal golf club to the Waratahs’ performances under Penney. As Wallabies coach, he couldn’t hide his distaste for former players lobbing criticism at the side, characterising it as a form of sporting treason. Yet he couldn’t entirely mask his coaching instincts, particularly during the Waratahs’ heavy loss to the Brumbies.

The Waratahs have lost all five matches of their Super Rugby AU campaign.Credit:Getty

Cheika wondered aloud about the apparent lack of “themes” in the Waratahs defence, particularly why there was a lack of cohesive determination or plan to envelop the Brumbies’ ball carriers close to the line, depriving them of easy access to the try line and the ability to offload to a support player.

This, Cheika reasoned, was an easily coachable trait that had nothing to do with the strength of the roster or a squad that, I’m guessing, was about $600,000-$700,000 under the salary cap – not $1m – after the signings of Sam Caird, Izaia Perese and Jack Whetton.

It was a lovely insight into the thinking of a coach who, let’s not forget, has won the biggest prizes in franchise rugby in both hemispheres.

He had broken down the game into blocks and identified a solution that could be easily communicated – talk about old coaching habits dying hard. It was then it really clicked that Cheika is still an active coach.

Watching him speak, it was easy to imagine a group of players listening and getting an instant surge of belief in the plan, regardless of their god-given talents or experience levels.

The chances of Cheika getting/taking the Waratahs job are somewhere between “approximately 0 per cent” and an ill-defined figure north of that, according to whom you speak.

But as NSW Rugby starts its search for Penney’s replacement, one thing is sure: it should be looking at a much narrower field than last time.

The “longlist” for Daryl Gibson’s replacement was more than 50 (yes, more than 50) and the board need not waste its time wading through a field when several obviously valid candidates have already voiced their interest.

Cheika’s name should be added to that list, although the risks are obvious. It’s not just that Cheika’s Wallabies reign ended in flames – when former Australia coaches have previously moved back into the Super Rugby space, it has ended in tears.

That was certainly the case for Eddie Jones and John “Knuckles” Connolly, whose consultancy role ended in a legal battle in Queensland.

The Waratahs need to be at least wary of that, and explore why the Jones appointment did not work out and whether the conditions that prevented one of the world’s best coaches from succeeding in Super Rugby again are still applicable.

Penney’s departure has led to another tough week for the Waratahs. Amid the acrimony, the best characterisation of the events came from RA chairman Hamish McLennan, who described it as a “necessary circuit-breaker”. That description did not denigrate Penney as a coach but it captured the harsh realpolitik of the Sydney sporting market.

Can Cheika step into the cauldron? The Wallabies Cheika – no. But TV Cheika? He’d be a definite maybe.

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