Criticism from his fellow Australian is the last thing Cheiks needs today.
New South Wales Waratahs’ Super Rugby title defence ended in Sydney, today, as the Highlanders set up a final tilt against New Zealand rivals Hurricanes.
Michael Cheika signed off as Tahs coach, this season, in disappointing style as his team ran out of steam in the final quarter.
Score of the match arrived via ‘Landers winger Waisake Naholo:
The crucial call arrived in the 57th minute, however, when Jacques Potgieter was yellow carded for a swinging arm tackle close to his own tryline. Referee Craig Joubert also awarded a penalty try for the offence. It was duly converted to put them 27-17 behind.
Post-match, Cheika remarked, ‘I haven’t seen too many head high tackles 30 centimetres from the ground.’
One man who was far from impressed with Waratahs falling short was a man that coached them back in the late 1990s. Matt Williams, who also coached Leinster and Ulster, tore into the players and Cheika for his substitution calls.
Want to watch some of the dumbest rugby play and coaching substitutions imaginable?Watch the Waratahs.Very poor and terribly disappointing.
— Matt Williams (@MattRCNM) June 27, 2015
We await a typically biting response from Cheika.
The man who led Leinster to a Heineken Cup in 2009 may, wisely, opt to concentrate on Australia’s World Cup campaign instead. The Rugby Championship – a titillating precursor – begins in three weeks’ time.
