Leicester Tigers appoint Michael Cheika as new head coach

Leicester Tigers have announced the appointment of former Wallabies boss Michael Cheika as the new head coach ahead of the 2024/25 season.

Cheika will succeed fellow Australian Dan McKellar in the role after the 47-year-old stepped down from his head coach position earlier in the week following the side's struggling performance in the 2023/24 season where they finished eighth with nine wins from 18 matches.

Meanwhile, Cheika was recently leading the Argentina's coaching panel in the World Cup last year in France. Prior to his association with the Pumas, the 57-year-old coached Australia between 2014 and 2019 and helped them reach the final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup where they lost to the eventual champions New Zealand.

He also had worked with Petrarca Padova, Randwick, Leinster, Stade Francais, Waratahs and Japanese club Green Rockets.

“Honestly, I wasn’t looking at the Premiership and didn’t have the desire to coach in it until Leicester Tigers came to me. But, the opportunity to coach at Tigers and lead this group of players turned my head," he told the club's official website.

“I want this to be my best coaching yet. I want the preparation and the way we lead the team, to be at my best level. If I can bring my best level, other people will bring their best level and good things will start to happen around us.

“Everybody can see that it is a top-quality roster the club has. I am not going to lie and say I know every single one of them down to their bones but that’s what I will do over the next few months, to learn how to get the best out of them.

“But, the roster is only paper. It’s now about how the team gels, how to put these really good players and characters together and get them playing in a way that they love it and a way they love going out there, together, and representing Leicester Tigers."