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Wallabies headcoach Michael Cheika has explained why he banned headphones during pre-game and says it comes highly recommended.
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Cheika is preparing his charges for what he told RugbyPass was the ‘best ever’ Irish rugby team to tour Austraila.
Writing for the Players Voice website Cheika spoke about his experiences as a coach and how challenging himself and his own pre-conceived ideas about the game have helped shaped his career.
“When I came back from overseas to coach the Tahs, I was watching the players during the trials. They all had the headphones on before games. I asked them why. No one said anything at first, but I pushed them. ‘Are you listening to the answer to the game? Is it a mantra? What is it?’
“‘It’s pump-up music,’ someone said.
“‘Righto,’ I answered. ‘We’re going to trial brushing the headphones. I want you to talk to your teammates. I can guarantee you Cyndi Lauper won’t win you the game.’
“I said the last bit as an attempted gee-up, but none of them knew who Cyndi Lauper was! In any case, it’s a policy that worked and something I’ve stuck with ever since.”
Cheika mused that technology has to be used to the advantage of the team, not against it.
“What I do know is this: the technology has to work for you, not the other way around.
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“Arnie was right about Skynet.”
Cheika is coming off the back of the latest Wallabies drama, namely negotiating the release of Pete Samu from the NZR.
Former Wallaby and ex-Reds and Crusaders winger Digby Ioane this week slammed Cheika for ‘missing’ on Samu when he was playing in Australia. The blindside flanker moved to New Zealand and played his way into the Tasman side before making the Crusaders.
“So happy to see #Samu making the Wallabies. It’s a real shame tho Michael Cheika didn’t see Peter Samu potential when he was playing in Australia. #Grassroots,” Ioane tweeted.
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So happy to see #Samu making the Wallabies, It's a real shame tho Michael Cheika didn't see Peter Samu potential when he was playing in Australia Grass roots🤷♀️
— Digby Ioane (@digbyioane) June 5, 2018
Samu expected to remain in New Zealand for life when he made the call to leave Sydney to move to Nelson.
“Things have turned out different and I’m here now and I’m excited,” he told rugby.com.au.
“I’m really excited for the new challenge. It’s going to be quite tough to leave the Crusaders with what they’ve done for me and the way they’ve been going.
“When I made the decision to go over there I never thought I’d be back.”
“I’m still coming to terms with it actually … it’s always the dream to represent your country,” he said.
As a 19-year-old he played reserve grade for Sunnybank in the Brisbane club competition in 2011. Future Queensland Reds backrowers Liam Gill and Jake Shatz held the first grade loose forward positions. He then moved to Sydney to play for Randwick, the club that Michael Cheika coached before being offered an opportunity to coach professionally at Leinster.
Samu was apart of the 2013 wider training squad for the Waratahs where Cheika had a first-hand look at the Melbourne product but no contract came forward.
He has now come full circle, after being released by NZR to play for the Wallabies in the upcoming test series against Ireland.
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.
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