Overview
- Multiple outlets report the Waratahs are set to announce a new head coach later this week with informed sources saying a deal for Michael Cheika is being finalised.
- The discussions reportedly center on a likely two-year contract that Rugby Australia hopes will restore on-field results and club confidence.
- Cheika is currently an assistant with the NRL's Sydney Roosters and is due to coach Lebanon at the Rugby League World Cup, so final terms must clarify when he can fully assume Waratahs duties.
- Senior players lobbied for Cheika and the club has recently signed experienced halves Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley, moves that shape the playing group he would inherit.
- Cheika led the Waratahs to their only Super Rugby title in 2014 and took Leicester to the 2025 Premiership final, which helps explain Rugby Australia's interest in him ahead of a major international year.