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Michael Cheika returns to Waratahs and rules out Wallabies job

Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps are also back at the Waratahs, while Stephen Hoiles and Wycliff Palu join Cheika's coaching staff.

By RuckBee Newsroom1 min read
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Michael Cheika says his return to the Waratahs is about winning Super Rugby, not about a route to the Wallabies job. "I'm here to try and win the comp." He said he is coming to get the team to try to win the competition, and that the role is not a stepping stone to anything else.

The Waratahs have missed the Super Rugby Pacific finals for three straight seasons, according to Rugby Australia. That run includes the 2023 wooden spoon under Darren Coleman.

Cheika arrives from the Sydney Roosters, where he was an assistant to premiers coach Trent Robinson. He had just finished a Lebanon rugby league World Cup role.

He is rebuilding with familiar names. Half-back pair Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps are back at the club, and Stephen Hoiles and Wycliff Palu join his coaching staff. Rugby Australia described Hoiles and Palu as fellow title winners.

Cheika also said this group has less international experience than past Waratahs sides, with about five or six players on the Wallabies tour. His message on the past was to look forward: "You don't want to watch old videos. You want to make your own movies"

More on RuckBee: Waratahs · World Cup · Alex Mitchell injury rules scrum-half out of England's Nations Championship

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