'Why would I want to?': Cheika's take on Schmidt, his plans for 2027 World Cup, and the job he has no interest in

Cheika got Argies into a Semi at World Cup 2023. Got the last Australia super title, got Australia to a World Cup Final and even got Lebanon to the quarters in League but all the anti tahs roarers say he can’t coach but expect the new coach to get Australia back in the top 3. Pure delusion. I’d like to see him coach a league side, agree his time with the wallabies has come and gone.

I think it could certainly make SR better, perhaps even sustainable, but that only gets less likely each year they kick the can down the road. They've conceivably already kicked it off the cliff at the end of the road. Four teams for NSW was typical hubris. Unsurprising that it rapidly devolved to City/Country. They'd've been better taking a punt on SA, who at least might have been able to mobilise support behind their total lack of any other meaningful involvement.

It's quite funny to see the enormous number of NSW teams in the old NRC, basically half, and compare it to the sole lonely team in SR. No one ever connects the dots.. I think there was some hope from RA that it would make up for Super Rugby not resembling a national competition, as if it would fool anyone. Not that there's anything wrong with it if it's affordable but it can't solve SR's problem.

Not sure I quite get your intent. Certainly think the NRC was done without any real intent or commitment, but not sure it was trying to make up for a lack of national footprint otherwise - at the end of the day, all the teams still sat within the same footprint as SR. If the intent of the NRC were in fact to achieve a genuine national footprint, they could probably do worse. They should have probably done that in the first place, taking the ARS in 2000, adding reserves sides from the Reds/'Tahs, then making it semi-professional with the intent of increasing funding over time. Certainly would have put them in a much, much better position to expand SR six years later, if nothing else. But whether the intent is/was ever for SR to achieve a national footprint, it is ridiculous to think that would be doable if they can't even manage a semi-pro presence. They seem to think jumping straight to the end result relieves them of any need to do any planning or preparation.

They play a season in their own right. So to ensure they are competitive they need to be able to secure the players they need. The All Blacks do the same for example. In the NRL, Origin and Test match payments are excluded from the salary cap. If the top ups are included in the cap, teams need to consider what value it adds to their super rugby pursuits. You do not need a strong scrum to win Super Rugby. So why would any team pay $800k a year of Tupou? You will end up with essential positions unwanted. Because test needs and Super needs differ. It's the reality of a game where international competition is a major part. Whilst the Wallabies are representative. They aren't just a rep team. They are their own team with their own requirements and focuses, that compete against others with the same. And what about internationals? Do the Reds need to include the FRU's test match payments for Ravi?

We are all agreed we are a happy with a part time , FIFO Kiwi coach. Let him weave his magic for two years and just get on with it. Results don’t really matter just looking for improvement. This is rebuilding for the next two years and try and consolidate as a Tier 1 competitor.

I would be inclined to disagree. Unlike the cricket, the Wallabies aren't a team in their own right. The cricket Test team does act as a team in its own right...it is off playing and earnjng money while the rest of Australian cricket just goes on without them. That isn't true of rugby...they are essentially a rep team that would ideally be on nothing more than pay-to-play, but that isn't realistic. But they absolutely could include the top-up amounts in the salary cap. It wouldn't result in every team blowing money on the same position, but it would force one or two teams to decide how they were going to accommodate the highly paid 10s the national team rate. It might mean they can't afford them, or it might mean they have to save some money elsewhere, but either way it would achieve the actual goal of equalisation. As it stands, RA themselves are subverting the intent of the salary cap. Or it is actually achieving exactly what they intended.

Scotland should feel aggrieved Yep Hoy that could be said. I remember that game, I had other words to say about that :angry:

You have to suspect that it's a mask to distract from tier one clearly not being national, in terms of the number of sides and a trophy to play for. It's not an effective substitute.

Pretty sure he played under Cheika at Leinster but I have to say KMP is right... Nothing really suggests FC is a great coach, other than being a great player. All Australians love "A good player must be a good coach" story, but it just isn't always the case... in fact, from evidence, we see it normally isn't the case. More fail in the transition than succeed, surely. Contepomi's Wiki says: "Contepomi joined Argentina XV in 2015 as a head coach alongside Ricardo Le Fort. In 2018, he was appointed as the new Backs Coach to Leinster, succeeding Girvan Dempsey, who moved to Bath. Contempomi left Leinster at the end of the 2021–22 season, moving to join the Argentina national rugby team in an assistant role to Michael Cheika." He retired from International rugby in 2013. He retired from playing with Club Newman (Argie club) in 2015. Did he literally walk into a coaching role? Having said that, we know Leinster finished 1st in the Pro14 for 4 years with him there, won the Champions Cup once, ran it up once, and were semi and quarter finalists once each, and were Celtic Cup champs twice... so a productive 4 years there. Whether Cheika was grooming Contepomi or not, still doesn't make him a good coach at the end of it. I mean, I sincerely hope he is, because strong Argies are good for everyone, but it doesn't automatically correlate, does it? It can take many years of understudy and assistant work to become a good coach.

Records say that, but fell into it really... England were poor, really poor, Wales couldn't score against 13 men, Scotland should feel aggrieved, Argies played their final the week before... But hey, you can only play and beat who is in front of you, and again, records show he coached the team to the final.

Although they seemed to think that the NRC simply existing was job done. Reality is, it did nothing to transition players into SR, and there was no planning apparent for it ever to do that. It gave amateurs somewhere to audition for a SR contract where they then might be developed, not actually assist in getting them from A to B.

Im going with Chiefs or Blues. Only if the Highlanders plane crashes on a snowy mountain and they starting eating each other. :shocked: We don't really have the depth for that carry on.

So how many of them weren't Super Rugby players before? Yes, anyone who wins tournaments in different countries must be good. These days coaches are starting to move around teams for longer, going back to the same team etc..He could also try the northern hemisphere.

Also didn’t coach to more than 50% wins for any season outside World Cup years…

Encouraging people to apply doesn’t indicate a lack of process. Because the process relates to assessing applicants. If Cheika was interested it was widely reported that it was advertised. You’re just upset they didn’t stroke his ego.

It takes a special effort to win the “clown” award. It didn’t have to be that way MC it really didn’t.

You decide what did and didn’t happen with no idea isn’t bias. I have no doubt that if he applied Schmidt was asked to. Doesn’t mean a process wasn’t followed.

If it were as easy as that, the TAB would be broke. And who would have predicted the Crusaders last season until the 79th minute of the final? The Drua seem to be doing ok for a new franchise...

Did Schmidt apply? Or was he contacted? I recall he suggested the latter... So yeah, just more irrelevant bias from the Roar-trollers.