Michael Cheika: Departing Wallabies head coach wants successor to be Australian
Tuesday 22 October 2019 09:24, UK
Outgoing Australia rugby head coach Michael Cheika says the next man to coach the Wallabies rugby team should "definitely" be Australian.
Cheika ended his five-year tenure in charge of the Wallabies when he stepped down shortly after the 40-16 World Cup quarter-final defeat to England on Saturday.
On his team's return from the Rugby World Cup in Japan, Cheika insists he wants an Aussie as his successor.
He said: "I think definitely we should be pushing for an Australian coach. It's not up to me but I think we should be backing and supporting Australian coaches wherever possible."
New Zealanders Dave Rennie, currently coaching Glasgow Warriors, and Japan head coach Jamie Joseph have been linked with the vacant role.
Cheika said he had no regrets after stepping down after five years as head coach. He had indicated before the World Cup that he would not seek to continue if Australia didn't win.
He added: "We came second last time (at the 2015 World Cup)...and I figure (after) four years you've got to come first next time. You can't call it and then change your mind afterwards because that's genuinely what we wanted to do: was go there and win."
Cheika, who has complained of a lack of support from Rugby Australia, said there would be "no excuses, no nothing.
"That's the way I've always operated and that's the way I'll continue to operate going forward."
