Cheika favourite to be named NSW coach

PK - I wonder if Foley will be given a go there. 9. Hart/McKIbbin 10. BFoley 11. Turner 12. Barnes 13. AAC 14. Mitchell (inj) orPakalani 15. Kingston out - Horne! Carter!

There are injuries from all sides and hopefully you would be right that all those brumbies would be selected however I would suggest not. The point I was making was not anti Waratah it was that the selectors are not selecting on form and as such it is sending the wrong message,

Level, the previous board regime have been a shambles which reflected they way the place has been run. Hopefully the new board like the coach will start with a clean slate and rebuild a once proud team. I'm mates with one of the new board members so wish him all the best.

Rocky, c'mon read all the stories back again, it's crap! Celebrate this, it is terrific for Rugby for their business to attract "world class" talent back to Australia, bloody hell! All this stuff about their Board, it is mainly new from I attending their member forums so seriously stop belieiving biased rubbish from a bygone period!

A technicality, but I'll take it. Now let us never speak of Nathan Grey as a Wallaby flyhalf again :)

Nathan Grey!

I honestly cannot say when the Tahs last produced a Wallaby flyhalf. The last one I can think of is Manuel Edmonds, and even he was a Canberra product. Mark Ella?

Elsom would only be a handy addition if he isn't considered for the game day 22. He'll only be clogging up the development of players like Dennis and L Timani if he takes their place on the field. And he probably will be named captain.

The Tahs do not have a decent playmaker and until they do they cannot win. Oz teams have only won with a Larkham or a Cooper.

So long as his contract is pro rata only, and Cheika has no intention of making him captain, then Elsom could still be a handy addition for next season.

Surprised this hasn't drawn more comment. Perhaps not a controversial decision? Perhaps we're all in shock the Waratahs admin made a good choice for once? I think Cheika is an excellent choice. I'm keen to see what other changes will be made through his introduction. I note Roger Davis has used the word "embrace" twice in one breath in the quote above. An interesting choice of words. I'm sure I'm reading too much into it but to me it says they are slightly concerned that Cheika will go his own way and do his own thing. I hope he does because supporters and sponsors aren't going to be alienated - they would welcome a change in culture, approach, tactics, etc.

Pillock's one eye forgot to see Benny "I can't scrum" A too. Mowen should have been given a chance too at 8 maybe though being fair - at least squad. The real high performer seems to be Jake White. Maybe he should be assistant coach for the forwards.

Drop Bowen and get Campo.

Good signing and I think the Tahs have finally found there man. Hope Cheika overhauls the entire culture and start again. No more rubbish from Admin and Board level. No more crappy marketing campaigns either, part of the problem is the marketing spin bullsh&t they come up with. Back to basics and start again.

Apparently he wants to sign Elsom. Maybe he should talk to Foley about how that all turned out for him.

Well Pillock, A bit of perspective please, if Lealifiano, Palmer, Tomane, Moore were fit, they'd all be there, along with Speight being currently ineligble. Try removing the anit Waratahs chip on your shoulder and deal with reality. The Brumbies had a pretty good year, they brought a new group of players through and should be proud of their efforts. But to suggest that they should have dominated the selections outside of the guys named above is a joke. They currently have two reps, with five more of their best either out injured or ineligble. So a probable seven selected if available out of a squad of 22 is not exactly 'an absolute disgrace' at all. Clearly you are either not particularly concerned with facts, or you are trolling, in which case I've taken the bait!

Not a chance of the Waratahs getting the trophy. The person best placed to help the Waratahs is Robbie Deans and the Australian selectors. Until they send a message to the Waratah players, and by extension the other Australian teams, that Wallaby selection is tied to performing during the Super 15 the Waratahs will continue to struggle. I for one think it is an absolute disgrace that the Brumbies who arguably where the best performing Australian team can only have 2 people in the Wallabies, McCabe & Hooper.

Announcement is up on the Waratahs website. I will be very interested to see how he goes - will it finally be the Waratahs time - will he do one better than McKenzie and get them to the trophy.

The Roar's Spiro Zavos is at the press conference - he'll have his thoughts for Roarers later in the day...

After calling time on his playing career in 1999, the highlights of Michael Cheika ’s 13-year coaching career include guiding Randwick to first and second grade Premiership titles in 2004 and steering Irish Province Leinster to Celtic League success in 2008 and a first ever Heineken Cup title in 2009. Born in Sydney, the 45-year-old says he is proud to have been chosen to take charge of the HSBC Waratahs. “The opportunity to coach the Super Rugby team of my home state and the responsibility to make all our supporters and all people from NSW proud of their team is one that motivates me immensely. “I am really looking forward to being part of this new era in NSW rugby and will bring all the passion and professionalism I have to make this team one everyone will be proud of. “My immediate goal is to establish our identity loud and clear, inside and outside of the team; who we are, how we are going to play the game and what we are prepared to do to earn the respect of our team mates, our supporters and our competitors, as individuals and as a team. “By achieving this we will earn the right to think about getting some good results.”