{"id":860621,"date":"2026-08-19T08:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860621\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T08:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:48:09","slug":"michael-cheikas-first-words-as-nsw-waratahs-return-confirmed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/860621\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Cheika’s first words as NSW Waratahs return confirmed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Cheika will return to rugby union in 2027 after being named as the new NSW Waratahs<\/a> head coach.<\/p>\n

The cross-code coach joins the Tahs after a stint as an assistant coach for NRL side Sydney Roosters, and returns to the 15-man game for the first time since his spell at Leicester Tigers. During his tenure at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, he took the Tigers to the 2024\/25 PREM Rugby final.<\/p>\n

Cheika<\/a> is no stranger to the Sydney-based side, either, having served as Tahs boss between 201-2015, leading the side to the 2014 Super Rugby title. He also steered Leinster to the Celtic League title in 2008 and the Heineken Cup in 2009, before taking Stade Fran\u00e7ais to the Challenge Cup final in 2011.<\/p>\n

He has also coached Argentina and Australia at Test level, leading the Wallabies to the 2015 Rugby Championship title and the Rugby World Cup final the same year and was named World Rugby Coach.<\/p>\n

His return to the Waratahs comes after Dan McKellar left his post back in June<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michael Cheika returns to rugby union as NSW Waratahs appointment confirmed<\/p>\n

Commenting on joining the Waratahs, Cheika said: \u201cThe NSW Waratahs have always occupied a special place for me \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

All Blacks great: \u2018The one advantage we have over the Springboks at the moment\u2019<\/a><\/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. This 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

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/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

Waratahs<\/a> director of performance, B-J Mather, added: \u201cMichael is a proven leader with an exceptional record across many years building and preparing teams to compete on rugby\u2019s biggest stages.<\/p>\n

\u2018One of the best human beings I\u2019ve known\u2019 \u2013 The magic behind Dave Rennie\u2019s remarkable rise to the All Blacks<\/a><\/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

Cheika has put pen to paper on an initial one-year deal, but does have an option to extend into 2028.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \u2018Everyone talks about Springboks set-piece, but they\u2019ve grown\u2019 \u2013 All Blacks coach<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Cheika will return to rugby union in 2027 after being named as the new NSW Waratahs head…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,818,55831,44,760,85,29898,33009],"class_list":["post-860621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-home-page","tag-michael-cheika","tag-news","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-super-rugby","tag-waratahs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860621","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=860621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}