MICHAEL CHEIKA MIGHT be the new man with a new regime as Australia’s coach, but he still faces some of the old questions that plagued his predecessors. Kurtley Beale has been a flawed genius throughout his tenure with the national side and the fallout from his recent incident (or Whatsappgate as it should be called) is still being brought up with the new boss.
Beale was called into the Australian squad last week and he is on the bench for his side’s clash with Ireland this Saturday, despite the fact that he has yet to pay the fine he received after sending derogatory messages to a former team manager. That fact caught Cheika unaware.
“I didn’t know he hadn’t paid his fine,” Cheika said.
“I look after the footy things and I am sure that will get looked after. There is nobody trying to cheat the system if that is the inference.”
It must be a little infuriating for Cheika that he has to deal with a mess that was left for him by the previous regime – and at times he let that frustration show at yesterday’s press conference.
Cheika will have a tough coaching battle against Joe Schmidt this Saturday. INPHO / Ryan Byrne
INPHO / Ryan Byrne / Ryan Byrne
Cheika was asked by an Australian journalist why he had instituted a media ban for Beale this week, and while it didn’t quite turn into Roy Keane vs journalist one and journalist two, his response was pointed nonetheless.
“There wasn’t as far as I know [a media ban for Beale],” Cheika said.
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“He is obviously not here today but if you had come and asked me I am more than happy to talk about it like in a normal relationship between adults.
“If you had come to me, like a journalist would with a player, I would be more than happy to discuss it. It is not really a question to ask in a press conference.
The journalist then claimed she had been ‘stonewalled from official channels’.
“There is nobody more official than me here,” Cheika laughed.
“I am the man. Just give me a call and I will discuss it gladly.”
That line of questioning is the price Cheika has to pay for bringing Beale back into the fold – but it is absolutely a price worth paying. Beale’s array of passes can unlock any defence and the Australia boss can thank the versatile back’s immaculate distribution for helping secure the Super Rugby title last summer.
Cheika made it clear that he is trying to make Beale a better player rather than constantly monitor his off-field activity like a human ankle bracelet.
“I never claimed that I would be his social worker, I’m just a rugby coach,” Cheika said.
“Honesty, straightforwardness and directness – I’ve found that works to get the best out of him. And just have a really good honest relationship. Nobody is going to be perfect, me included. If you are honest, more often than not you can get a resolution.
“There are no excuses for what happened [Whatsappgate]. When he was with me at the Waratahs he was impeccable but there are no excuses for what happened.”
One sub-plot that makes this Saturday’s game particularly intriguing for Irish rugby fans is seeing Leinster’s two Heineken Cup winning head coaches go head-to-head on the international stage. Cheika was full of praise for Joe Schmidt as a rugby brain and was asked whether he had focused on the fact that he was coming up against his successor at Leinster.
“Not really but what I do know is that Ireland are a very interesting team tactically,” Cheika said.
“The coach is very skilful at analysing the opposition and profiting from that. The changes in our game that have come in during the last while, I’m sure he will try to exploit that and it is up to us to repel them.”
Cheika isn’t taking over an Australian side in particularly good health. Some of their most talented players are based in the northern hemisphere – making them unavailable for selection – and he says the union are considering allowing players to go on sabbaticals (basically season-long paydays) to allow them to earn a big wage but also return to play for the national side.
The Australia coach touched on the amount of money that can be offered to players to move abroad but also strongly backed the guys he has currently has at his disposal.
“At the end of the day, there is a money difference in coming over here to play but that’s about making a decision that money is more important than playing for Australia and when you make that decision, it is time for someone else to play for Australia,” Cheika said.
“It is not an issue [not being able to select northern hemisphere players] because we don’t do that, it has always been the policy not to select players who play outside of Australia. If I was to come out and say I supported picking those guys, what would it say to the guys I have here. These guys have been plying their trade in Australia for less money that they could have been making elsewhere and I want to back that kind of resolve.”
I'm not his social worker: Michael Cheika on dealing with Kurtley Beale
MICHAEL CHEIKA MIGHT be the new man with a new regime as Australia’s coach, but he still faces some of the old questions that plagued his predecessors. Kurtley Beale has been a flawed genius throughout his tenure with the national side and the fallout from his recent incident (or Whatsappgate as it should be called) is still being brought up with the new boss.
Beale was called into the Australian squad last week and he is on the bench for his side’s clash with Ireland this Saturday, despite the fact that he has yet to pay the fine he received after sending derogatory messages to a former team manager. That fact caught Cheika unaware.
“I didn’t know he hadn’t paid his fine,” Cheika said.
“I look after the footy things and I am sure that will get looked after. There is nobody trying to cheat the system if that is the inference.”
It must be a little infuriating for Cheika that he has to deal with a mess that was left for him by the previous regime – and at times he let that frustration show at yesterday’s press conference.
Cheika was asked by an Australian journalist why he had instituted a media ban for Beale this week, and while it didn’t quite turn into Roy Keane vs journalist one and journalist two, his response was pointed nonetheless.
“There wasn’t as far as I know [a media ban for Beale],” Cheika said.
“He is obviously not here today but if you had come and asked me I am more than happy to talk about it like in a normal relationship between adults.
“If you had come to me, like a journalist would with a player, I would be more than happy to discuss it. It is not really a question to ask in a press conference.
The journalist then claimed she had been ‘stonewalled from official channels’.
“There is nobody more official than me here,” Cheika laughed.
“I am the man. Just give me a call and I will discuss it gladly.”
That line of questioning is the price Cheika has to pay for bringing Beale back into the fold – but it is absolutely a price worth paying. Beale’s array of passes can unlock any defence and the Australia boss can thank the versatile back’s immaculate distribution for helping secure the Super Rugby title last summer.
Cheika made it clear that he is trying to make Beale a better player rather than constantly monitor his off-field activity like a human ankle bracelet.
“I never claimed that I would be his social worker, I’m just a rugby coach,” Cheika said.
“Honesty, straightforwardness and directness – I’ve found that works to get the best out of him. And just have a really good honest relationship. Nobody is going to be perfect, me included. If you are honest, more often than not you can get a resolution.
“There are no excuses for what happened [Whatsappgate]. When he was with me at the Waratahs he was impeccable but there are no excuses for what happened.”
One sub-plot that makes this Saturday’s game particularly intriguing for Irish rugby fans is seeing Leinster’s two Heineken Cup winning head coaches go head-to-head on the international stage. Cheika was full of praise for Joe Schmidt as a rugby brain and was asked whether he had focused on the fact that he was coming up against his successor at Leinster.
“Not really but what I do know is that Ireland are a very interesting team tactically,” Cheika said.
“The coach is very skilful at analysing the opposition and profiting from that. The changes in our game that have come in during the last while, I’m sure he will try to exploit that and it is up to us to repel them.”
Cheika isn’t taking over an Australian side in particularly good health. Some of their most talented players are based in the northern hemisphere – making them unavailable for selection – and he says the union are considering allowing players to go on sabbaticals (basically season-long paydays) to allow them to earn a big wage but also return to play for the national side.
The Australia coach touched on the amount of money that can be offered to players to move abroad but also strongly backed the guys he has currently has at his disposal.
“At the end of the day, there is a money difference in coming over here to play but that’s about making a decision that money is more important than playing for Australia and when you make that decision, it is time for someone else to play for Australia,” Cheika said.
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