Wallaby happy 'Cheika is still the boss'
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Micheal Cheika is the perfect mentor to steer Australia’s World Cup campaign as far as Will Genia is concerned.
Last year, Cheika’s role as head coach of Australia was under scrutiny following one of the worst seasons in Wallabies history with just four wins from 13 tests.
Many Wallabies legends like fullback Matt Burke, hooker Brendan Cannon, and former coach Bob Dwyer, called for Cheika to step down.
However, Rugby Australia opted to stick with Cheika and managed to bring in Scott Johnson, who will join the team after finishing his current role with Scotland, as Director of Rugby to aid the national setup.
A move Will Genia whole-heartedly supports.
Genia, who has been the preferred No.9 in the Wallabies side, revealed to rugbycomau that he is confident that Cheika has a plan to overturn the side’s fortunes in 2019.
“[I’m] just glad that Cheik’s still going to be the boss,” Genia told rugbycomau.
“He’s one of the best coaches, if not the best coach, that I’ve had and he’s been in place for a while so he’s obviously got a plan as far as what he wants to do and he’s had that plan from the get-go, as far as 2019 being the goal, and he’s a really good coach.
“He’s putting stuff in place that I know will pay dividends by the time we get to the World Cup.
“From a stability perspective as well, it’s nice to have that consistency in and around the coaching staff too,”
Genia, who is likely to play in his third World Cup, also reveal that despite his desire to remain at the Melbourne Rebels beyond the 2019 global event the world-class No.9 is open to playing his trade outside Australia.
“I’ve got the option to stay, I’m having conversations with Rugby Australia and the Rebels and I’m pretty interested in staying but then obviously I’m not going to close other doors, whatever I might be whether it’s going overseas or whatever,” he said.
The Wallabies will play their first 2018 Test on July 20 in Johannesburg before taking on Argentina on July 27 in Brisbane.
Source: rugbycomau & @rugby365com
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