OPINION: Cheika - good at social media, rubbish at coaching

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has proved himself a master of social media this past week, with his response to a viral fan post showing a genuinely humble, personable side to the man. That’s lovely, he seems like a good bloke, but the fact is he keeps losing.

To the non-NSW fan, Cheika basically came out of nowhere a few years ago as the coach of a Waratahs team that played with the skill and arrogance of a late-90s Wallabies squad to win Super Rugby in 2014.  Previously, he had a Heineken Cup win with Leinster in 2009 but the records of seasons in-between wreak of just okay performances from top-tier squads.

Since his shock elevation to the Wallabies role, Cheika’s record has been patchy, with his only 100% win ratios coming against the powerhouses of USA, Uruguay, Wales, Fiji and Argentina (admittedly this last one is surprisingly good). Most telling are his 1-in-6 win records against both England and New Zealand.

But Michael Cheika does seem like a nice guy. Someone you’d like to have a beer and a few grunts with. He certainly comes across as the somewhat credible one in a pack of ARU crash test dummies that has driven a once thriving game into international rugby laughing-stock territory.

Which is why, in the Trumpest way possible, a nice sweet social media distraction is just the thing the ARU and Wallabies would be relishing in the wake of the Scotland embarrassment and the Super Rugby disgrace, which Rugby Netizens and casual fans on Facebook alike are now happily forgetting because the coach seems like a genuine, nice, honest guy.

Well. There's a headline I never thought I'd see. That one's going straight to the pool room… pic.twitter.com/fFZOfawcKX

— Jack Quigley (@Jack_Quigley) June 19, 2017

For their part, the Wallabies appear to be happily milking their Cheika’s back-and-forth with passionate fan Jack Quigley in the hope that disconsolate honesty will conveniently help disenfranchised Wallabies fans forget how badly their team lost to Scotland last weekend. And how they haven’t beaten the All Blacks for how many years. And how their Under 20s team barely registered a Share or Like on the near-daily viral bites from the Junior World Champs. And how, most importantly, their governing body has failed the sport so badly in recent years that its best young players covet Euros, Pounds and Yen over the green and gold jersey.

Hear what Michael Cheika said to the media today. Read more: https://t.co/nyMsF2NZFP pic.twitter.com/5J4ZRzeTt2

— Wallabies (@wallabies) June 19, 2017

At the end of the day though, I hope Wallabies fans will remember that, while Michael is now probably top of your mum and dad’s current people-I-wouldn’t-mind-inviting-to-dinner list, his coaching record is actually average and trending downwards. Nice guy though.