Michael Cheika is going home. The 59-year-old has been appointed NSW Waratahs head coach for the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season, returning to the club he took to its only title in 2014 and his first job in Australian rugby since walking away from the Wallabies after the 2019 World Cup.
He signs for two seasons and will start in November, once he has finished his commitments with the Sydney Roosters and coached Lebanon at the Rugby League World Cup.
"The NSW Waratahs have always occupied a special place for me — it's 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," Cheika said in a statement.
"Being 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."
He was careful to add a line about the code he is leaving: "Before 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."
The appointment closes a search that began when Dan McKellar was let go with a year still to run on his deal after two frustrating seasons. Lachlan McCaffrey and Dan Palmer take the side through the Super Rugby AUS campaign until Cheika arrives.
Waratahs Director of Performance B-J Mather made no attempt to hide what the club is buying.
"Michael is a proven leader with an exceptional record across many years building and preparing teams to compete on rugby's biggest stages," Mather said. "His coaching achievements speak for themselves but equally important is his sincere passion for our club and what it represents. We believe Michael is the right person to now lead the next chapter for the Waratahs and we are delighted to welcome him home."
Asked what he expected in year one, Mather was blunt about the pattern Cheika has established at every club he has joined.
"He's got a good track record of that, hasn't he? He usually gets a good bounce when he comes into a club," he said. "So 'Chek' probably backs himself to get that performance bounce in the very near future ... for the Waratahs and for Australian rugby as a whole, we need to be successful."
Mather also pointed to the churn the appointment is meant to end. "In the last 25 years the Waratahs have had 12 head coaches. The Crusaders have had four, I think. So, we need to start building that and some longevity in our coaching team and our coaching structures."
Cheika's exit from the Wallabies in 2019, after a quarter-final defeat in Japan, was acrimonious. Mather said it never came up as an obstacle.
"They say time heals all wounds. It's a long time ago when he left and there's a lot of water under the bridge. So when his name came up in conversations there were never any major obstacles raised as a red flag not to have that conversation and see if he was interested — and vice versa."
Waratahs chairman Tony Crawford, who watched Cheika galvanise the club from 2013 as Norths president, framed the deal as a two-part job.
"We're thrilled with the decision and with 'Chek's' commitment to us for the next year or two," Crawford said. "I think it's vitally important for two reasons. Firstly, to get us on track, but equally importantly, to set us up for the future. As you'd already appreciate, it's a two-year window to do that, and we've got some succession planning to put in behind that, which will become a key focus for us over the next 12 months."
Cheika inherits a squad that has already been reshaped. Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps, his halves in the 2014 title side, were announced as marquee signings last week. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Max Jorgensen are contracted, and Roosters back Angus Crighton arrives next season. Mather indicated there is still room to move if the right name surfaces.
"We can always have a good go. If there's a target out there that we think fits the way that he wants to play, and is available to us, we'll have a good crack at that," he said. "We want to get better, we need to win games. We know that and whatever we need to do to be successful, we'll do the best that we can."
Since leaving the Wallabies, Cheika has coached Argentina to back-to-back wins over the All Blacks and a 2023 World Cup semi-final, then taken Leicester to the 2025 Premiership final. He won the Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009 and was World Rugby Coach of the Year in 2015.
