{"id":717435,"date":"2026-07-29T14:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/717435\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T14:58:10","slug":"michael-cheika-lined-up-for-sensational-return-to-rugby-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/717435\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Cheika lined up for sensational return to Rugby Union"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Published: 2 hours ago | 29 July 2026 08:53 EDT <\/p>\n

mens<\/p>\n

super-rugby-pacific<\/p>\n

Michael Cheika during his time at Leicester Tigers\/ PA \"Google <\/a> <\/p>\n

Former Wallabies and Argentina<\/a> boss Michael Cheika, who has been working in the NRL, could make a sensational return to the NSW Waratahs<\/a> after a series of targets turned them down.<\/p>\n

Cheika had a three-year spell at the helm of the Waratahs between 2012 and 2015 before leaving to take over the Wallabies, and spent last season learning the ropes of coaching in the NRL as an assistant coach at the Sydney Roosters.<\/p>\n

But calls for him to replace the ousted Dan McKellar have been growing stronger after a series of targets turned down the chance to take over at the Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> outfit next season.<\/p>\n

Former Ireland<\/a> and Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt was a target, but he has been confirmed as a coach development adviser at Ulster, while it is also believed that Scott Robertson and Eddie Jones\u2019s long-time sidekick Scott Wisemantel, now at the Parramatta Eels, have also said no.<\/p>\n

The Waratahs could now turn to Cheika, who left Leicester<\/a> Tigers in June 2025 and was linked with the top job at the NRL outfit St. George Illawarra Dragons as they step up attempts to secure McKellar\u2019s replacement.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, St. Helens RL legend Bobbie Goulding has taken to the networking site LinkedIn to call on the Super League outfit to push the boat out and go all out for Cheika, as they seek a permanent replacement for their departed boss Paul Rowley.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone seems to be talking about who should get the St Helens job, but for me, they\u2019re looking at it completely the wrong way. Too many people are thinking about friendships, short-term fixes, or giving a mate a chance. That\u2019s not how you build a club that wants to compete on the world stage,\u201d Goulding wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cSt Helens don\u2019t just need another coach \u2013 they need to make a statement. My choice, and I know it will surprise a lot of people, would be Michael Cheika. The former Australia<\/a> Rugby Union head coach has been working with the Sydney Roosters over the last couple of years, and everything I\u2019m hearing about him is exciting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Saints have the opportunity to bring him in and don\u2019t take it, I honestly believe they\u2019ll have missed a huge chance to take the club where it belongs.<\/p>\n

\u201cA coach of that calibre wouldn\u2019t just improve the team; he\u2019d bring worldwide attention, fresh ideas, and put St Helens firmly on the global rugby map. Show the rugby world that St Helens are thinking bigger than just next week \u2013 they\u2019re building for the next decade.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published: 2 hours ago | 29 July 2026 08:53 EDT mens super-rugby-pacific Michael Cheika during his time at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":717436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-717435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}