The NSW Waratahs are confident incoming coach Michael Cheika can deliver an instant boost as they look for stability within their coaching ranks.
Cheika’s return to Australian Rugby was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon, signing a two-year deal with the club, the second year being an option.
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The former Wallabies coach has a history of delivering early success, taking the Waratahs to their maiden title in 2014 during his second year in charge.
The success continued when he left for the Wallabies, helping them to the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final, while making the European Challenge Cup Final (2011-12) and English Premiership Final (2024-25) with Stade Francais and Leicester, respectively, all in his first two seasons in charge.
“He usually gets a good bounce when he comes into a club. We have a really talented squad and a young squad and we’ve brought some experience in around that so I think ‘Chek’ probably backs himself to get that performance bounce in the very near future,” Waratahs Director of Performance B-J Mather said.
“I think it's important for any organisation to be winning, but probably for the Waratahs and for Australian rugby as a whole, we need to be successful.
“I think it's a credit to the board and to the rest of the organisation that they've taken the steps that they needed to do to try and bring a proven winner in ‘Chek.”
Maher hoped Cheika could provide the coaching stability the Waratahs have lacked, the former English international said.
Lachlan McCaffrey and Dan Palmer will take charge of their Super Rugby AUS campaign, with Cheika set to join the team after his stint with Lebanon at the Rugby League World Cup.
“In the last 25 years the Waratahs have had 12 head coaches. The Crusaders have had four, I think,” he noted.
“So, we need to start building that and some longevity in our coaching team and our coaching structures.”
Waratahs Chairman Tony Crawford watched in as Norths President as Cheika galvanised NSW Rugby when he took over in 2013, hoping for a similar boost the second time around.
“We're thrilled with the decision and with ‘Chek’s’ commitment to us for the next year or two,” he said.
“... I think it's vitally important [to have Cheika coming back] for two reasons. Firstly, to get us on track, but equally importantly, to set us up for the future. As you'd already appreciate, it's a two-year window to do that, and we've got some succession planning to put in behind that, which will become a key focus for us over the next 12 months.”
