Publications
Partners
Cheika is the only coach to have won the major rugby club competition in each hemisphere, winning the Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009 and the Super Rugby competition with the Waratahs in 2004.
Playing Career:
Cheika played no8 in his career. Cheika played more than 300 games for Randwick, a Sydney based rugby club. He also won 7 Shute Shields with Randwick and captained the team between 1997 and 1999. Cheika also played for New South Wales, Castres Olympique, Stade Francais and Rugby Livorno.
Cheika also represented Australia at under 12 level.
Coaching career:
Cheika had never coached before but when a coaching job in Italy came to his attention he applied and was appointed as coach of Padova in the Heineken Cup.
In 2001, Cheika returned to Sydney to coach his old club, Randwick, and led them to win the Shute Shield in 2004.
Cheika replaced Declan Kidney as head coach of Leinster in 2005. In his first season in charge he led the team to the semi finals where they lost to the eventual champions, Munster. In 2009, Leinster lost their Celtic Leugue crown to Munster but won their first Heineken Cup final 19-16.
Cheika then moved from head coach of Leinster to become Director of Rugby at Stade Francais between 2010 and 2012.
In 2013, Cheika was appointed as the head coach of the New South Wales Waratahs. In 2014, CHeika led the Waratahs to their first home final and also the Super Rugby title against the Crusaders. The Crusaders, who was a team the Waratahs had not defeated in over a decade, was beaten 33-332 in the Super Rugby final by the Waratahs.
Although Cheika has a great record of success as a coach he is now faced with his biggest challenge. He has less than a year left to niuld a competitive Australian team for the World Cup.
