Former Wallabies lock Justin Harrison has backed Michael Cheika’s ability to resurrect Argentina’s flagging fortunes and deliver results at next year’s Rugby World Cup in France.
Cheika, the former Wallabies coach, is reportedly set to be announced as the new Pumas head honcho following Mario Ledesma’s resignation last month.
Cheika had been working as Ledesma’s assistant and Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported the Australian “won the arm wrestling match” against Pumas great Gonzalo Quesada, another strong candidate for the role.
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Cheika reportedly met with Argentina’s rugby president Marcelo Rodriguez and right hand man Gabriel Travaglini in Europe where his family is currently based.
Cheika is also the director of rugby at the NEC Green Rockets in Japan as well as working as an expert for Nine and Stan Sport.
“He’s yo-yoing back and forth between France and here and gracing us with his presence,” Harrison said on the latest edition of Stan Sport’s Rugby Heaven.
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“Look, Argentina are clearly looking for some stability and some direction.
“That’s a man who can get results reasonably quickly which is what Argentina need a year and a half out from World Cup.”
Indeed, Cheika took control of the Wallabies in similar circumstances in 2014 and guided them to the final of the 2015 World Cup.
He also took over as Waratahs coach in 2013 before leading them to a historic Super Rugby title the following season.
Argentina is at a low ebb after a disastrous 2021 season in which the Pumas won just three of 12 games and slumped to ninth in the world rankings.
If the reports are correct, Cheika’s new role would be a backflip from his comments in 2020 in an interview with The Times.
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“I’ve always felt that I couldn’t ever go back and coach against a team I’ve already coached,” Cheika said, after stepping down as Wallabies coach following a quarterfinal exit at the 2019 World Cup.
“I feel that’s almost being a traitor… I’m never going to go against them.
“That’s my country. They are my guys. That’s the jersey my kids wear. Obviously, the management didn’t like me, for one reason or another and that’s how they approached it.”
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