Australian Michael Cheika (55), world rugby globetrotter and former coach of Australia, has been appointed coach of Argentina, according to the daily La Nacion, after the departure of Mario Ledesma.
The former Castres and Clermont hooker, who had led the Pumas since 2018, announced his resignation last month.
"The decision was difficult, but we understood that Cheika was the right person to lead the Pumas, since he had collaborated with Ledesma and he knows the philosophy and the structure of Argentinian rugby," said a member of the board. of the Argentine Federation (UAR), who has not been identified, quoted by the public agency Tela.
This choice comes as a half-surprise, because according to the Argentine press in recent weeks, the Argentine coach of Stade Français Gonzalo Quesada, Felipe Contepomi (in charge of the Leinster backs) or Mauricio Reggiardo (manager of Provence Rugby).
Cheika was previously an adviser to the Pumas
This Australian of Lebanese origin was notably coach of the Irish province of Leinster (from 2005 to 2010), of Stade Français (2010-2012), of the Australian Waratahs, before being coach of Australia from 2014 to 2019. He left office in October 2019 after the Wallabies lost in the quarter-finals of the World Cup against England (16-40).
At the end of 2020, Michael Cheika was an advisor to the Pumas, then he was appointed coach of the Lebanese rugby league selection, and finally in 2021 director of the Japanese club NEC Green Rockets.
Former 3rd line, he notably evolved as a player for three years in France between 1989 and 1992, at Castres Olympique and at CASG Paris.
During the 2023 World Cup, Argentina will want to erase the failure of elimination in the first round in 2019. They will play in a very tough group, with England, Japan, Samoa and a team from the qualifications of the Americas area.
