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'I have an interesting perspective': Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika lands surprise Super Rugby commentary role
Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika will join Nine and Stan Sport’s commentary team for the upcoming Australian rugby season.
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Cheika joins Wallabies legend David Campese as two of the most recent signings made by the Australian broadcasters ahead of the Super Rugby AU season set to kick-off on Friday.
Since leaving his post as Wallabies boss following the failed 2019 World Cup campaign, Cheika has been involved in various positions both within rugby union and rugby league.
After a period working as an assistant coach with the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, the 53-year-old joined the Los Pumas coaching staff for last year’s Tri-Nations series in Australia.
As an assistant coach, Cheika helped steer Argentina to their first-ever victory over the All Blacks in Parramatta, while also clinching consecutive draws against his former Wallabies side.
He has since taken up the position as head coach of the Lebanon rugby league team ahead of this year’s Rugby League World Cup in the United Kingdom, but will first take charge of the microphone for Nine and Stan Sport over the coming months.
This isn’t Cheika’s first foray into a commentary role, having worked for BT Sport and the BBC in the past.
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For Nine and Stan Sport, he will work as an analyst and provide insight from the commentary booth.
“It was very dependent on the role they wanted me to play,” Cheika told the Sydney Morning Herald in the wake of his appointment.
“I can’t see myself on the microphone asking questions but [my job will be around] around giving people who are watching the game a different view on the game and insights into what might be happening in the background and on the field.”
The 2015 World Rugby Coach of the Year added that his previous positions as head coach of the Wallabies, Waratahs, Stade Francais and Leinster gives him a point of difference to other callers.
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“Obviously I have an interesting perspective because I have been on the other side. If you have an opinion, it’s based on evidence, not just a thought.
“It’s also about trying to connect the dots for people around what players and coaches are thinking or doing as opposed to judging them. I won’t be going on TV to judge anybody.”
The planned Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition is in jeopardy due COVID-19 outbreaks in NZ and Australia in recent weeks and Kiwi border restrictions remaining intact.https://t.co/ngJEZAzKKj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 16, 2021
Campese, meanwhile, is also excited to join the network after having previously held a role with South African broadcaster SuperSport.
“I’ve always wanted to be in rugby,” he said. “I just think I’m old enough now to understand the game pretty well and just try and give a different aspect.
“Over the last couple of years I think the game has been neglected in knowledge of the game. I’m not saying the guys who have been there don’t know the game, but I’m a bit different.”
Cheika and Campese join a commentary team that already features Drew Mitchell, Tim Horan, Andrew Mehrtens, Sean Maloney, Roz Kelly, Allana Ferguson, Nick McArdle, Morgan Turinui, Justin Harrison and Andrew Swain.
Comments on RugbyPass
Je suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
25 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
25 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
25 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
25 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to comments