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Michael Cheika is stepping down as Australia head coach following their World Cup quarter-final exit against England.<\/p>\nMichael Cheika is stepping down as Australia head coach following their World Cup quarter-final exit against England.<\/p>\n
Michael Cheika has insisted he had no choice but to resign after Australia were dumped out of the World Cup by England.<\/p>\n
The former Leinster and Stade Francais boss has stepped down as Wallabies head coach in the wake of Saturday\u2019s 40-16 thumping in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
The 52-year-old admitted he had to resign after pledging to the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) that he would quit if the Wallabies fell short of their World Cup potential.<\/p>\n
Cheika angrily refused to answer questions about his future in the immediate aftermath of Australia\u2019s hefty loss to England, but only a day later he has confirmed his tenure is at an end.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time I wasn\u2019t keen to answer but I always knew the answer in my head,\u201d said Cheika. \u201cI wanted to speak to my wife and tell a few people I care about.<\/p>\n
\u201cI put my chips in earlier in the year, I said \u2018no win, no play\u2019, so I\u2019m the type of person who will always back what he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew from the final whistle, but I just wanted to give it some time to settle down. I have no regrets about making the call, but yes, I would love to stay on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of pride and a lot of honor, but I made my call.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to show I was prepared to put myself on the line to achieve what I believed the team could and we didn\u2019t do that, so I\u2019ve got to stand by what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sydney-born but of Lebanese descent, Cheika made his name as an uncompromising back-rower at Randwick, where he forged a close bond with current England boss Eddie Jones.<\/p>\n
Cheika made his fortune away from the game in a clothing business specializing in jeans, and he has now admitted he has no need to remain in rugby.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he will seek a return to top-level coaching, Cheika said: \u201cI don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t thought about it to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be very hard to replicate the thrill and excitement of coaching at international level to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never coached as a job, only for the pleasure. I haven\u2019t really thought about it, so I\u2019ll see what happens next.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not swayed by many things, as long as I know I\u2019m doing my absolute best, leaving no stone unturned to prepare the team but also representing the game for the whole country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried my absolute best to do that. I\u2019ve loved every minute of it so there\u2019s no emotional toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m no drama queen. I love the ups and downs, and that\u2019s the way it rolls. I\u2019m no finger-pointer. I think I\u2019m half-and-half for wins which isn\u2019t too dissimilar across the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not looking for an excuse there or an excuse here. I\u2019ve tried to make the best of every opportunity I\u2019ve been given. We weren\u2019t able to deliver consistency over the whole time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some great moments, that comes with part of the challenges we\u2019ve got around losing players overseas, young players coming through.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at the end of the day that\u2019s pretty irrelevant, it\u2019s all about trying to do the best you can in any given situation. Our best wasn\u2019t good enough in this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle said in a statement: \u201cOn behalf of Rugby Australia, I want to thank Michael for his dedication and service to the role of Wallabies head coach since taking up the position in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael is a passionate and experienced coach who worked tirelessly to get the best out his players. He cares deeply about the Wallabies and the game of rugby, and always set out with the aim of making Wallabies fans proud of the team\u2019s performances.\u201d<\/p>\n