Former Wallabies boss Michael Cheika is set to be announced as the new Pumas coach through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, according to a report in Argentina.
La Nacion reported that Cheika, who is also the director of rugby with the NEC Green Rockets in Japan, had been picked ahead of Pumas greats Gonzalo Quesada and Felipe Contepomi to succeed Mario Ledesma, who resigned in February.
“Cheika had already been with the national team as Ledesma’s advisor during the 2020 Tri Nations and the July Tests and the 2021 Rugby Championship,” La Nacion reported.
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“In fact, the players themselves point to him as a key factor in the victory against New Zealand (in Sydney in 2020).”
The newspaper added that Cheika’s hiring “draws attention because it occurs at a time when the Argentine Rugby Union is going through a time of scarcity, to the point that in recent years there have been considerable cuts.”
Cheika coached Australia to the final of the 2015 World Cup and the quarterfinals of the 2019 edition.
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La Nacion stated that Argentina’s rugby president Marcelo Rodriguez and right hand man Gabriel Travaglini travelled to Europe to meet with candidates before “opting for the experience of the Australian, who won the arm wrestling match against Quesada, the favourite of the players and the fans.”
The newspaper added that Contepomi would serve as Cheika’s assistant before taking over after the World Cup.
Ledesma resigned after a disastrous 2021 season in which the Pumas won just three of 12 games and slumped to ninth in the world rankings.
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