Latest news with #Cheika
Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Brian O'Driscoll gives behind-the-scenes details of viral Michael Cheika moment
Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll has revealed all when it came to the viral clip that appeared to show Michael Cheika lambast the former centre. Ex-Leinster boss Cheika is now in charge of the Leicester Tigers and appeared to be on the war path during the Premiership final between the side and Bath. The Aussie boss was on the sideline and looked to have taken exception to an on field decision and with O'Driscoll nearby then said something to his former player. "I've seen this look before!" O'Driscoll joked on TNT Sports' live coverage. "When my mother comes over to me to tell me I've left the immersion on! I didn't give away the penalty; he was actually having a word with one of his staff members behind me, and I was in the firing line. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but he was a bit exasperated. The whole bench in front of us was very annoyed that the penalty wasn't given to them." After that was cleared up, O'Driscoll further explained what happened, and revealed all about a text message he received from Cheika after the game. Speaking on Off The Ball, he said: "It was a sunny day, I was entitled to have my shades on and next thing, Cheiks comes running down from the box and there's a bad call on Montoya who got penalised for hands in the ruck and it looked as though it was a perfectly good poach. 'Anyway, Chieks was kind of pulling some of his staff away from talking to the fourth official, but making a point of pulling him away, saying to 'ignore them, they're useless', blah blah. 'He was kind of roaming around, and then another one of his staff was standing behind me ,and he came over and started giving out about the referee to him, but it almost looked as though it was to me as well. 'It was like I haven't done anything'and I could see the camera panning to us and I didn't know it was on us for as long as it was, but I just started laughing then.' "His wife sent it to him after the game and then he immediately sent it on to me, saying 'I'm glad we're still making memories out there, man'," Cheika coached O'Driscoll and Leinster to a Heineken Cup in 2009 as well as a Celtic League title (now the URC).
Irish Daily Mirror
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Ex-Leinster boss slams referee as Dan Cole ends Leicester career in sin-bin
Leicester Tigers' boss, Michael Cheika, has expressed his disappointment over Dan Cole's yellow card in the Premiership final, calling it "an embarrassment to the game". The match saw Bath narrowly win at Twickenham. The Midlands team were hoping to end their era on a high note. Head coach Cheika is set to leave, while club legends Cole and Ben Youngs played their last games after successful stints with the Welford Road team. Both players came off the bench, but Cole was shown a yellow card and sent to the sin bin for the final 10 minutes, ending his career on a sour note. He tried to block Finn Russell but ended up making contact with the Bath fly-half, leading to a penalty by referee Karl Dickson. Cheika bemoaned the performance of the referee, claiming they "got nothing back" despite their perceived dominance a scrum time. the Leicester boss was also stunned that Cole received his yellow and stated that rugby will be embarrassed by such decisions. The Australian told TNT Sports: "I thought we got nothing back from the referee at all and we kept on coming back and turning up. We scored three tries to two, that tells you something. I'm super proud of the players. "[I was] just upset with the decisions on the field. The scrum we were dominating – obvious ones, not 50-50s. The scrum we were dominating completely. A couple of head knocks, a couple of balls where we could have got penalties there easily. [We had] two men in the bin, [and] the second one [was] for nothing, really. It is embarrassing for the game that a player goes off for that. I'm allowed to be angry, but I got over it and am happy to accept the result now and get on with the next thing." Pressed further on the yellow card incident he said: "For me personally, if the game is sending players to the sin bin for that, or even penalising [them]...What do I say, mate? If I say something, I'll get myself in strife and take away from the champion team who have led the competition and deserve to win the competition." Cole had only been on the pitch for seven minutes, running on to a heart-warming reception, and had looked to charge down the Bath 10. His yellow meant that the Tigers were up against it to mount a comeback, even if they kept scoring points with a man less. Leicester came up with two late tries to set-up a grandstand finish, but ultimately came up short as Bath won their first Premiership title for nearly 30 years. Thomas Du Toit and Max Ojomoh came up with their tries as Youngs and Cole missed out on a champion farewell. "It hurts, but I'm proud," Youngs told BBC Radio Leicester. "My emotions are all over the place right now. You have so much ambition to win today and you don't, and you have that to deal with as you try to take it in. It's a funny old feeling." Meanwhile Bath skipp Ben Spencer said: "The future of this club is unbelievably bright, no matter who pulls on the shirt it's next man in. The work ethic is second to none. As long as we keep our feet on the floor and keep on wanting to get better, the sky is the limit for this team." He added: "The amount of hard work this has taken to turn the ship around... we were bottom three years ago. I can't credit [Johnan Van Graan] enough, he's been absolutely brilliant. If we [understand] there's always an opportunity to get better then I'm really excited for the next couple of years."
Sydney Morning Herald
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The hard questions needed to be asked about Super Rugby
There was some outstanding rugby played throughout Super Rugby, with tournament organisers justified in talking up the increased competitiveness of games and uptempo rugby. But there are hard questions to be asked of the competition based on the following: in the four years since its inception, only three teams have made the Super Rugby Pacific grand final (Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues). Further, in the 12 semi-finals and grand finals in the 2022-2025 period, only one game involved a team that wasn't the Crusaders, Chiefs, Blues or Brumbies. This is atypical of not just comparable tournaments around the world, but of Super Rugby itself, especially in the 2011-2016 period that produced a diversity of finalists and winners. Competition owners Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby should be asking themselves three things: what changed (or didn't change) after the end of the 'old' Super Rugby to create this four-team dominance?; will it change in the coming years? (in my opinion, no); and if not, what are they going to do about it? Lolesio loss really hurt the Brumbies The Brumbies gave it a crack against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday, although even the most committed Brumbies' fans must have had a sinking feeling when James Slipper was penalised just before halftime, an area where the Brumbies had to dominate if they wanted to cause an upset on the road. However, the key moment of the game was the loss of Noah Lolesio in the early stages due to a failed HIA. Not surprisingly, it took Jack Debreczeni about 15-20 minutes to find the rhythm of the game, and even when he settled he was always going to find it hard to replicate the influence that Lolesio has on the Brumbies' game. The Chiefs got a big bump from their bench - the replacement props maintained the scrum pressure while halfback Xavier Roe and playmaker Josh Jacomb were sharp. Combustible Cheika may be too hot to handle Michael Cheika almost went out in a blaze of glory with Leicester at the weekend, narrowly losing the Premiership final 23-21 to Bath, but he had one last spray for match officials. Calling a yellow card to prop Dan Cole 'embarrassing for the game', Cheika was also critical of how the scrums were officiated and was clearly irate on the sidelines. It's all part of the package with Cheika, who has an amazing record of turning teams around but also comes with obvious baggage. Wallabies legend Tim Horan this week called for Australian rugby to find a role for Cheika somewhere in the system but there is no mystery while administrators at national or state level don't seem to be rolling out the red carpet. He's an enormous character, obviously very smart but complex, and not the coach for any chief executive who already has enough on his or her plate. New Super Rugby AU competition will be a step forward There appears to be a diminished appetite in New Zealand for Australian players, which is just one more reason why the much-expected Super Rugby AU competition in September would be a good thing. It's thought to be one round and a final, and therefore quite limited in scope, but it will still plug a gap in the calendar for those players who aren't involved in the Wallabies. Everyone is struggling with the 'third-tier' format - debates in New Zealand and South Africa are fairly constant about the role of the NPC and Currie Cup, respectively, but the consensus remains that although the perfect model is elusive, an imperfect competition is preferable to the void that Australia has been a constraint on Australian rugby for years.
The Age
15-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
The hard questions needed to be asked about Super Rugby
There was some outstanding rugby played throughout Super Rugby, with tournament organisers justified in talking up the increased competitiveness of games and uptempo rugby. But there are hard questions to be asked of the competition based on the following: in the four years since its inception, only three teams have made the Super Rugby Pacific grand final (Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues). Further, in the 12 semi-finals and grand finals in the 2022-2025 period, only one game involved a team that wasn't the Crusaders, Chiefs, Blues or Brumbies. This is atypical of not just comparable tournaments around the world, but of Super Rugby itself, especially in the 2011-2016 period that produced a diversity of finalists and winners. Competition owners Rugby Australia and New Zealand Rugby should be asking themselves three things: what changed (or didn't change) after the end of the 'old' Super Rugby to create this four-team dominance?; will it change in the coming years? (in my opinion, no); and if not, what are they going to do about it? Lolesio loss really hurt the Brumbies The Brumbies gave it a crack against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday, although even the most committed Brumbies' fans must have had a sinking feeling when James Slipper was penalised just before halftime, an area where the Brumbies had to dominate if they wanted to cause an upset on the road. However, the key moment of the game was the loss of Noah Lolesio in the early stages due to a failed HIA. Not surprisingly, it took Jack Debreczeni about 15-20 minutes to find the rhythm of the game, and even when he settled he was always going to find it hard to replicate the influence that Lolesio has on the Brumbies' game. The Chiefs got a big bump from their bench - the replacement props maintained the scrum pressure while halfback Xavier Roe and playmaker Josh Jacomb were sharp. Combustible Cheika may be too hot to handle Michael Cheika almost went out in a blaze of glory with Leicester at the weekend, narrowly losing the Premiership final 23-21 to Bath, but he had one last spray for match officials. Calling a yellow card to prop Dan Cole 'embarrassing for the game', Cheika was also critical of how the scrums were officiated and was clearly irate on the sidelines. It's all part of the package with Cheika, who has an amazing record of turning teams around but also comes with obvious baggage. Wallabies legend Tim Horan this week called for Australian rugby to find a role for Cheika somewhere in the system but there is no mystery while administrators at national or state level don't seem to be rolling out the red carpet. He's an enormous character, obviously very smart but complex, and not the coach for any chief executive who already has enough on his or her plate. New Super Rugby AU competition will be a step forward There appears to be a diminished appetite in New Zealand for Australian players, which is just one more reason why the much-expected Super Rugby AU competition in September would be a good thing. It's thought to be one round and a final, and therefore quite limited in scope, but it will still plug a gap in the calendar for those players who aren't involved in the Wallabies. Everyone is struggling with the 'third-tier' format - debates in New Zealand and South Africa are fairly constant about the role of the NPC and Currie Cup, respectively, but the consensus remains that although the perfect model is elusive, an imperfect competition is preferable to the void that Australia has been a constraint on Australian rugby for years.
The Advertiser
14-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Aussie coach Cheika seethes on his English farewell
Michael Cheika's hopes of leaving his latest coaching job at English giants Leicester with a trophy have been dashed as his farewell was ruined by a narrow 23-21 loss to Bath in the Premiership final at Twickenham. The combative Australian, who coached the Wallabies to the World Cup final at the same venue a decade ago, was frustrated to bow out with a defeat, and vented his irritation about the officiating of the showpiece fixture on Saturday. Cheika declared the decision to send his Tigers prop Dan Cole to the sin bin as "embarrassing for the game" after a late Emeka Ilione try for Leicester proved not quite enough to drag them to a late victory. Yet Ilione's score would have given Cheika's team the lead if not for the penalty that Finn Russell put over after Cole had been penalised over a collision with the Scottish star flyhalf. England prop Cole, in his last game before retirement, was sent to the sin bin, leaving Cheika to fume over both that decision and the earlier card for a high tackle from Leicester captain Julian Montoya. "I thought we got nothing back from the referee at all and we kept on coming back and turning up," lamented Cheika. "We scored three tries to two, that tells you something. I'm super proud of the players. "Two men in the bin - the second one for nothing, really. It is embarrassing for the game that someone goes off for that. I'm allowed to be angry, but I'm over it and happy to accept the result now and get on with the next thing." It represented an anti-climactic farewell for not just Cheika and Cole, but also Ben Youngs, the highest capped Englishman in international history. Cheika reckoned he had to hold his tongue in his post-match press conference too as he reflected on the performance of referee Karl Dickson. "For me personally, if the game is sending players to the sin bin for that, or even penalising…what do I say mate? "If I say something, I'll get myself in strife and take away from the other team. I just have to beat myself up inside and try and keep as much as I can inside. "I've got my feelings on the referee's performance but I'll take that up with [head of refereeing] Paul Hull as one last final…banter, let's say." Cheika, at 58, decided in January not to extend his stay at the club which he's helped rejuvenate in his one season in charge. Next season, Geoff Parling, the former Leicester and England lock who's been a key assistant to Joe Schmidt with the Wallabies, will take the reins. For winners Bath, it was the end of a 29-year wait for a Premiership title as they secured a famous treble following their Premiership Cup and European Challenge Cup wins. Tries by Thomas du Toit and Max Ojomoh had given Bath a healthy lead in the second half, only for Leicester, seeking a record-extending 12th title, to hit back with tries by former Tongan NRL star Solomone Kata and Ilione to set up a nail-biting finale. Michael Cheika's hopes of leaving his latest coaching job at English giants Leicester with a trophy have been dashed as his farewell was ruined by a narrow 23-21 loss to Bath in the Premiership final at Twickenham. The combative Australian, who coached the Wallabies to the World Cup final at the same venue a decade ago, was frustrated to bow out with a defeat, and vented his irritation about the officiating of the showpiece fixture on Saturday. Cheika declared the decision to send his Tigers prop Dan Cole to the sin bin as "embarrassing for the game" after a late Emeka Ilione try for Leicester proved not quite enough to drag them to a late victory. Yet Ilione's score would have given Cheika's team the lead if not for the penalty that Finn Russell put over after Cole had been penalised over a collision with the Scottish star flyhalf. England prop Cole, in his last game before retirement, was sent to the sin bin, leaving Cheika to fume over both that decision and the earlier card for a high tackle from Leicester captain Julian Montoya. "I thought we got nothing back from the referee at all and we kept on coming back and turning up," lamented Cheika. "We scored three tries to two, that tells you something. I'm super proud of the players. "Two men in the bin - the second one for nothing, really. It is embarrassing for the game that someone goes off for that. I'm allowed to be angry, but I'm over it and happy to accept the result now and get on with the next thing." It represented an anti-climactic farewell for not just Cheika and Cole, but also Ben Youngs, the highest capped Englishman in international history. Cheika reckoned he had to hold his tongue in his post-match press conference too as he reflected on the performance of referee Karl Dickson. "For me personally, if the game is sending players to the sin bin for that, or even penalising…what do I say mate? "If I say something, I'll get myself in strife and take away from the other team. I just have to beat myself up inside and try and keep as much as I can inside. "I've got my feelings on the referee's performance but I'll take that up with [head of refereeing] Paul Hull as one last final…banter, let's say." Cheika, at 58, decided in January not to extend his stay at the club which he's helped rejuvenate in his one season in charge. Next season, Geoff Parling, the former Leicester and England lock who's been a key assistant to Joe Schmidt with the Wallabies, will take the reins. For winners Bath, it was the end of a 29-year wait for a Premiership title as they secured a famous treble following their Premiership Cup and European Challenge Cup wins. Tries by Thomas du Toit and Max Ojomoh had given Bath a healthy lead in the second half, only for Leicester, seeking a record-extending 12th title, to hit back with tries by former Tongan NRL star Solomone Kata and Ilione to set up a nail-biting finale. Michael Cheika's hopes of leaving his latest coaching job at English giants Leicester with a trophy have been dashed as his farewell was ruined by a narrow 23-21 loss to Bath in the Premiership final at Twickenham. The combative Australian, who coached the Wallabies to the World Cup final at the same venue a decade ago, was frustrated to bow out with a defeat, and vented his irritation about the officiating of the showpiece fixture on Saturday. Cheika declared the decision to send his Tigers prop Dan Cole to the sin bin as "embarrassing for the game" after a late Emeka Ilione try for Leicester proved not quite enough to drag them to a late victory. Yet Ilione's score would have given Cheika's team the lead if not for the penalty that Finn Russell put over after Cole had been penalised over a collision with the Scottish star flyhalf. England prop Cole, in his last game before retirement, was sent to the sin bin, leaving Cheika to fume over both that decision and the earlier card for a high tackle from Leicester captain Julian Montoya. "I thought we got nothing back from the referee at all and we kept on coming back and turning up," lamented Cheika. "We scored three tries to two, that tells you something. I'm super proud of the players. "Two men in the bin - the second one for nothing, really. It is embarrassing for the game that someone goes off for that. I'm allowed to be angry, but I'm over it and happy to accept the result now and get on with the next thing." It represented an anti-climactic farewell for not just Cheika and Cole, but also Ben Youngs, the highest capped Englishman in international history. Cheika reckoned he had to hold his tongue in his post-match press conference too as he reflected on the performance of referee Karl Dickson. "For me personally, if the game is sending players to the sin bin for that, or even penalising…what do I say mate? "If I say something, I'll get myself in strife and take away from the other team. I just have to beat myself up inside and try and keep as much as I can inside. "I've got my feelings on the referee's performance but I'll take that up with [head of refereeing] Paul Hull as one last final…banter, let's say." Cheika, at 58, decided in January not to extend his stay at the club which he's helped rejuvenate in his one season in charge. Next season, Geoff Parling, the former Leicester and England lock who's been a key assistant to Joe Schmidt with the Wallabies, will take the reins. For winners Bath, it was the end of a 29-year wait for a Premiership title as they secured a famous treble following their Premiership Cup and European Challenge Cup wins. Tries by Thomas du Toit and Max Ojomoh had given Bath a healthy lead in the second half, only for Leicester, seeking a record-extending 12th title, to hit back with tries by former Tongan NRL star Solomone Kata and Ilione to set up a nail-biting finale.
