Cheika: I’ll bring my best level to Tigers
Australian replaces Mckellar after having his ‘head turned’ Leicester hope pedigree will help take club back to the top
Michael Cheika has been confirmed as the new head coach of Leicester Tigers, just five days after the departure of Dan Mckellar.
Cheika, who was head coach of Argentina at last year’s World Cup and had previously overseen the Wallabies, will assume responsibilities immediately ahead of the first day of pre-season on Monday.
Telegraph Sport revealed both the exit of Mckellar and the fact that Cheika, long admired by Tigers for his combative nature, had been a leading candidate for the role.
“Honestly, I wasn’t looking at the Premiership and didn’t have the desire to coach in it until Leicester Tigers came to me,” Cheika said. “But the opportunity to coach at Tigers and lead this group of players turned my head.”
“I want this to be my best coaching yet. I want the preparation and the way we lead the team, to be at my best level. If I can bring my best level, other people will bring their best level and good things will start to happen around us.
“Everybody can see that it is a top-quality roster the club has. I am not going to lie and say I know every single one of them down to their bones but that’s what I will do over the next few months, to learn how to get the best out of them.
“But the roster is only paper. It’s now about how the team gels, how to put these really good players and characters together and get them playing in a way that they love it and a way they love going out there, together, and representing Tigers.”
Andrea Pinchen, the chief executive of Leicester, explained that Cheika had been installed after “detailed and very honest conversations” over recent days. It is understood Cheika was strongly endorsed by Julian Montoya, who captained the Pumas during his tenure, which featured away wins over England and the All Blacks.
“We are very pleased to be able to appoint someone of Michael’s experience and history with success,” Pinchen added. “He has, over more than two decades, achieved great success in winning trophies but also developing players, developing coaches and galvanising groups to be the best they can be.
“We want that, we need that and believe Michael is the right person to take this team, this club, back to where we know we should be.
“I also accept that the past week is not what fans expected, and nor did we, but the decisions we have
made are for the long-term benefit of Leicester Tigers and after lengthy, detailed and very honest conversations with Michael in recent days, we are on the same page about what is now necessary.”
Cheika has become Leicester’s 12th head coach in the professional era and the fifth Australian of that
group, following Bob Dwyer, Pat Howard, Matt O’connor and Mckellar.
His last club role was as director of rugby at Green Rockets Tokatsu in Japan – from 2021-2023 – and he has enjoyed great success at club level, leading Leinster to their first Heineken Cup title in 2009 –
against Leicester – and also guiding the Waratahs to a Super Rugby title in 2014 with a dramatic victory over the Crusaders.
Leicester will be hoping that Cheika can improve on last season’s disappointing eighth-place finish. They were knocked out of the Champions Cup in the round of 16.
The aim will be for the 57-yearold to provide stability following the relatively short tenures of Mckellar, Steve Borthwick – who won the league title in 2022 before being appointed by England – Geordan Murphy and O’connor.
Dan Palmer, the club’s scrum coach, resigned from his role as a result of Mckellar’s exit. The club also confirmed that “all other assistant coaches and performance staff, as announced this month, have commenced work on the 2024-25 season”.
That set-up includes Peter Hewat, the new attack coach who the club announced had signed to work with Mckellar, only a few days before his exit.