Michael Cheika

Michael Cheika is the head coach of the NSW Waratahs, returning to the club he led to its only Super Rugby title. He succeeds Dan McKellar, who resigned on 29 June 2026 with a year still to run on his contract.

Born in Sydney in March 1967 to Lebanese parents, he was a number 8 for Randwick with spells in Europe at Castres, CASG Paris and Livorno. He represented New South Wales in 1997 and Australia at Under-21 level, but never won a senior Test cap.

A career of unlikely successes

Cheika is the only coach to have won both a Heineken Cup and a Super Rugby title. He took Leinster to the 2009 Heineken Cup — the province’s first — then coached Stade Francais before returning home to the Waratahs, delivering the 2014 Super Rugby championship with a famously expansive, high-risk attacking game.

He took over the Wallabies in 2014 and reached the 2015 World Cup final within a year, winning World Rugby Coach of the Year. He later coached Argentina to a World Cup semi-final in 2023, led Leicester Tigers to the 2025 Premiership final, and most recently worked as an assistant in rugby league with the Sydney Roosters.

Style

Cheika is a confrontational, emotionally driven coach who builds sides in his own image — abrasive, ambitious and attack-minded. His teams tend to improve fast and play with licence, and he has a long record of getting more out of squads than their form suggests. He remains committed to coaching Lebanon at the Rugby League World Cup, which shapes his start.