MADRID, 11 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Argentine rugby coach, Michael Cheika, believes that rugby in Spain “is knocking on the door to become an important sport”, immersed in a “transition” that will be consolidated with the participation in a World Cup, as well as the increase in the Spanish fan base, which will be helped by the match on August 26 between ‘Los Leones’ and ‘Los Pumas’ at the Cívitas Metropolitano.
“From the outside, it’s as if they were knocking on the door to become an important sport. Obviously, their goal must be to qualify for the World Cup in Australia in 2027. That’s where many things will change about rugby in Spain, the children will be able to see the national team in a World Cup. It will be a key moment in the transition from rugby to becoming an important sport”, Cheika assessed in an interview with Europa Press during a visit to Madrid to promote the duel with the ‘Leones’ on August 26 at the Metropolitan .
The Australian coach pointed out that “of course” the match between ‘Los Pumas’ and the Spanish team will help increase the rugby fan base in Spain. “We are a good sport,” he said, before joking about this upcoming rivalry between the two types of cats. “As long as we humans aren’t between either of them,” he quipped.
Michael Cheika is the second non-Argentine coach to lead ‘Los Pumas’, after New Zealander Alex Wyllie did so in 1999. He has been in charge since March 2022, but made his coaching debut 24 years ago, at Petrarca Italian rugby, to later move to the club of his life, Randwick. He has also coached Irish Leinster, Parisian Stade Francais, Australian Waratahs and his country team from 2014 to 2019.
With the ‘Wallabies’ he touched glory in the 2015 World Cup in England, a tournament in which he was a finalist, losing to the ‘All Blacks’ (34-17). His great work in the tournament led him to win the Coach of the Year Award, his highest distinction on a bench. Four years later he ended his tenure as Australia coach by losing in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Japan.
Thus, he assured that “experience” can help, also that of the players who already reached the semifinals with Argentina in that 2015 World Cup, the best result of ‘Los Pumas’ in this tournament. “The important thing is to find a balance between experience and freshness. There are many players excited to play this World Cup in France,” the coach confessed.
“A World Cup is the biggest and most important event for us, every four years, for the teams, the fans, the players. It was seen in the World Cup, everyone wanted to enjoy the tournament, even despite losing the first game. It will be complicated, many things can happen, but we are going to enjoy it. We will be prepared, we will give everything, we are confident and secure”, analyzed Cheika, who stated that “everything is possible”, when asked about a football ‘double’. rugby after the achievement of a third star for the ‘Albiceleste’.
The 55-year-old Australian stressed that Argentina is “different from the great traditional rugby teams for many reasons.” “The first is cultural. We speak another language, that may be a challenge for referees who speak English. There is a community and friendship with rugby in Argentina, playing there is special. It is unique,” he added.
However, he preferred not to ‘get wet’ on the favorites to lift the title in the tournament that takes place in France from September 8 to October 28, 2023. “There is a list of four, five, six favorites. In the World Cup they pass big things, you can’t take anything for granted, there aren’t many games, you have to be prepared for everything”, he explained, at the same time that he asked his players to focus on “how to improve” themselves.