{"id":860440,"date":"2026-08-19T05:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T05:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860440\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T05:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T05:14:17","slug":"rugby-news-2026-michael-cheika-officially-returns-as-nsw-waratahs-coach-sydney-roosters-assistant-to-leave-nrl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860440\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby news 2026: Michael Cheika officially returns as NSW Waratahs coach, Sydney Roosters assistant to leave NRL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Cheika<\/a> is officially back in Australian rugby.<\/p>\n

After\u00a0nine.com.au\u00a0revealed earlier this month that Cheika was Rugby Australia\u2019s intended target as Dan McKellar\u2019s replacement as Waratahs<\/a> coach, the 2015 World Rugby coach of the year will lead the Super Rugby franchise in 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Michael Cheika and Bernard Foley at the Waratahs in 2015.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

The 59-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Waratahs \u2013 a deal that has the option of a second year in charge.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understood Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh was the mastermind in ensuring Cheika returned as Waratahs coach.<\/p>\n

The respected coach will see out his one-year deal with the Sydney Roosters and is also expected to still coach Lebanon at this year\u2019s Rugby League World Cup.<\/p>\n

Cheika is the Waratahs\u2019 sole championship-winning coach, having taken them to a historic final in 2014 \u2013 a 33-32 win over the Crusaders at Sydney\u2019s Olympic Park \u2013 in his second year in charge.<\/p>\n

He then led the Waratahs to the Super Rugby semi-finals in 2015, before leaving the franchise and taking the Wallabies to the World Cup final later that year.<\/p>\n

The Waratahs have only returned to the Super Rugby semi-finals once (2018) since Cheika left in 2015 and have missed the finals in the past three years.<\/p>\n

Having finished as Wallabies coach following the nation\u2019s World Cup quarter-final exit in 2019, Cheika then took Argentina to the semi-finals in France in 2023.<\/p>\n

He then completed another rebuilding mission at Leicester Tigers in England, having taken over from McKellar in mid-2024 and led the Premiership heavyweights to the final in his one \u2013 and only \u2013 season in charge.<\/p>\n

Cheika, who is currently Trent Robinson\u2019s right-hand man at the Sydney Roosters, said he was hopeful of helping lead the NRL club to a title before turning his attention to his next rebuilding job in what shapes as the biggest year in the game\u2019s history in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NSW Waratahs have always occupied a special place for me – it\u2019s my home state and I feel ready to return as their head coach ahead of an important year for the Waratahs and also for Australian Rugby in the lead up to the home Rugby World Cup,\u201d Cheika said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing involved in the NSW squad that lifted the Super Rugby trophy in 2014 is something I will never forget, especially the passion and energy of our supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a new time, a different time and I am looking forward to being able to enjoy those same kinds of feelings and more with players, their families and all the fans in this new adventure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really would like to share all the experiences I have been lucky enough to gain since I was last here and make this a great place to play footy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore all of that I want to give my all to my rugby league club, the Sydney Roosters, to help achieve our goal for this season, to pay them back for the trust and belief they have always shown in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Michael Cheika has been on the Roosters\u2019 full-time staff in 2026.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

The Waratahs confirmed that Cheika\u2019s coaching team would be announced in \u201cdue time\u201d, but it\u2019s believed that Stephen Hoiles will be his right-hand man.<\/p>\n

Hoiles, who was a part of the Waratahs\u2019 Super Rugby triumph under Cheika in 2014 and has since started a promising coaching career, is set to fly from Los Angeles and see Rugby Australia and NSW officials on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Scrum coach Dan Palmer is likely to stay with the Waratahs, while defence coach Lachie McCaffrey is also contracted for 2027. McCaffrey was recently confirmed as the Waratahs\u2019 coach for the upcoming Super Rugby AUS competition, with recently retired Jack Debreczeni and injured Wallabies halfback Jake Gordon his assistants alongside Palmer.<\/p>\n

NSW Waratahs Director of Performance B-J Mather said he was thrilled Cheika was back in Australian rugby.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael is a proven leader with an exceptional record across many years building and preparing teams to compete on rugby\u2019s biggest stages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis coaching achievements speak for themselves but equally important is his sincere passion for our club and what it represents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe Michael is the right person to now lead the next chapter for the Waratahs and we are delighted to welcome him home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Cheika is officially back in Australian rugby. After\u00a0nine.com.au\u00a0revealed earlier this month that Cheika was Rugby Australia\u2019s intended…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-860440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}