The 'no idea' Michael Cheika reaction when asked about his future
Michael Cheika has claimed he has no idea if he will be coaching Argentina in 2024 after their Rugby World Cup campaign ended with a disappointing 23-26 bronze final defeat to England in Paris.
It was July 2022 when the Australian, who guided the Wallabies to the 2015 final in London, first took charge of a Los Pumas Test match but he gave no definite indication that he will still be in charge when the South Americans reassemble again next year.
“I have no idea,” he said post-game on Friday night at Stade de France when asked if he was continuing on as the Pumas head coach.
“I haven't even thought about it. I'll go to Argentina later in the year and we will have a talk about how things went and what the future holds.
“But it's not really what I'm thinking about. I'm totally disappointed for everyone, for our crowd, for our people as I think we deserved to win tonight and for one reason or another we didn't."
Skipper Julian Montoya added: "We don't know if it is his last game so I am not going to speak about that. He has never said it was his last game so nothing I can say about that."
Switching to the manner of their three-point defeat, which was a big improvement on the 10-27 loss that Argentina suffered seven weeks ago to 14-man England in Marseille, Cheika reckoned: "It was fine margins. Three points.
"We had a charge down. We hung in there really well, I thought we fought back well. We didn't get the rub of the green on many things but we still stayed in the game. It's just the way it's meant to be.
"It's been alright,” he added, reflecting on Argentina’s fourth-place finish. “We have had a good campaign but the players deserved better tonight. I am disappointed with the way the whole game was run. The way the game was refereed and the consistency.
“Our players have worked for two years to try and get something here. I know we are one of the lower nations. We are not England, New Zealand, South Africa or any of those guys but at the end of the day, it's hard. I feel for the lads as they deserved more than what they got out of today."
The Montoya verdict on his team's effort was: “We want to inspire a new generation in our country and we wanted to get the win. We made some mistakes, some things we could not control.
"We need to be better at controlling things. We scored a try but then we conceded points straight after their kick-off. We fought for every ball so I am proud of the team."
Latest Comments
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
Go to comments