Michael Cheika makes up his mind on Los Pumas position – report
Argentina head coach Michael Cheika ahead of the clash with Australia in Sydney.
Despite initially hinting that he might step down from his position, Argentina head coach Michael Cheika is set to continue his stint as Los Pumas’ boss, according to a report.
In an interview with Ole Rugby, Argentine Rugby Union president Gabriel Travaglini revealed that Cheika is close to agreeing terms on a contract extension with the governing body.
“We proposed to Cheika that he train until the end of the World Cup and organise the staff,” he said.
“He complied with that and intends to stay, so now we are analysing it. We are making the best effort to have the best structure to face the next World Cup.”
Cheika took over the coaching reins from Mario Ledesma in 2022 but his future was up in the air after he guided Los Pumas to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals where they lost to the All Blacks.
Former Wallabies coach
The 56-year-old, who also coached the Wallabies between 2014 and 2019, was non-committal on his future after Argentina’s narrow loss to England in the Rugby World Cup Bronze Final match and said that his involvement with Los Pumas would be decided later this year.
“I’ll go to Argentina later in the year, and we’ll have a talk about how things went and what the future holds, but it’s not really what I’m thinking about,” Cheika said at the time.
“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.
“I have a very good relationship with everybody. When I arrived in 2022, it was clear we were going for two years, for the World Cup. [Felipe] Contepomi is not far off. He is getting good results, and that has always been part of the conversation. We will decide now what is best for the Pumas in the future.
“Will I continue? We will see. Maybe we need a change and take another step with Felipe, but that is not important. I want this team to win and to have success. They took with them a piece of my heart.
“We haven’t talked about this until now. It is not something I am concerned about at all. I know we will take the best decision.”
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