Volatile Cheika on brink of history

01 August 2014 - 02:06 By Craig Ray
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POINT BLANK: Waratahs coach Michael Cheika during a training session at Moore Park this week in Sydney ahead of the final against the Crusaders
POINT BLANK: Waratahs coach Michael Cheika during a training session at Moore Park this week in Sydney ahead of the final against the Crusaders
Image: GETTY IMAGES

It's revealing that several high-profile rugby brains who have worked with current Waratahs coach Michael Cheika do not want to discuss the man.

Cheika, 47, is an abrasive, quick-tempered and uncompromising character who has bumped heads with almost everyone he has come up against, and even some of those on his own side.

But he has also delivered as the Waratahs are into only their second Super rugby final after topping the overall standings for the first time.

Earlier this year, Cheika was heavily fined for hurling abuse at a SuperSport cameraman, who rightly pointed his camera at the coach when he came to the side of the field to remonstrate with officials and pass on tactical information to captain Dave Dennis, who was in the sin bin.

Yesterday Cheika had another run-in with a photographer at a Waratahs' training session.

"What if I come to your work and start f**king photographing you?" Cheika shouted, New Zealand press reported.

In March, Cheika damaged the coaches' box in Canberra in a fit of rage when his side went down to the Brumbies.

At Kings Park a few weeks later, Sharks coach Jake White could not resist having a dig at the volatile Cheika in the aftermath of his touchline tirade.

"There had been a lot of talk in the media about going toe-to-toe and intensity and aggression, so I suppose I must thank Mike [Cheika] for making my team talk easier. I just put it all on the board," White said.

Cheika, still fuming from his spats on the side of the field with the officials, that would eventually cost him a six-month suspended ban and a R60000 fine, was quick to fuel the fire, suggesting that the Sharks' 32-10 win was closer than the score suggested because of an unusually high penalty count against the Waratahs.

"Whatever Michael Cheika says, we believe, don't we?" was White's withering response before rekindling the coaches' box incident in Canberra: "I just want to see if our coaches' box is still alright because I might have to ask [Sharks CEO] John Smit to get some insurance for it."

But Cheika has had the last laugh by steering his side to tomorrow's Super 15 final against the Crusaders at Sydney's Olympic Stadium, where a crowd of 83500 is expected to turn up.

Before his stint with the Waratahs, Cheika was relatively unknown in Australia as he had pursued most of his coaching career in Europe.

The son of Lebanese immigrants to Australia, Cheika played and coached at the famous Randwick club in Sydney before moving out of rugby full time to concentrate on business.

Cheika made his fortune in the fashion distribution industry, which has given him the economic freedom that allows him to be a maverick.

He is not concerned about speaking his mind for fear of losing a job or being fined.

He returned to professional coaching with Irish province Leinster in 2005 and guided them to their maiden Heineken Cup title in 2009.

An unhappy two-year stint at Stade Français followed before a return to Australia, where has lifted the Waratahs from ninth in 2013 to the top of the standings in 2014.

All that remains is to steer the Waratahs to their first-ever title, and all that's standing in their way are the seven-time champions.

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