World News – AU – « Not on Christmas List »: My ex-father opens up to Cheika

Michael Chica hasn’t been on the Christmas Cards list since he dropped me from the Wallabies before the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

And almost nothing has pleased me more throughout my career than hearing that he smashed a window in a training box, after a tight victory over the Brumbies.

But it was great to see him again on the international stage and his influence on the Argentines when they beat the All Blacks was unmissable..

And although his energy and passion for the game are impressive, he is also one of Rugby’s greatest personalities..

Don’t be afraid to be yourself which the game desperately needs. When it was announced as Wallabies coach, she asked a friend who knew him: « What does he like? »

My friend replied, “It’s like a kickboxer with a tree to cut down. But instead of going far to sharpen his ax, he continues to kick the tree until his leg is strong enough to chop it up. ”

But as we all know, determination alone only gets you away and as the great American President Abraham Lincoln said: “Give me six hours to cut down a tree and I’ll spend the first four hours sharpening the ax..

Cheika is credited with throwing tons of trees on his way to becoming the only coach to win the Super Rugby and European titles.

Not to mention leading the Wallabies to the 2015 World Cup Final, and their initial 2014 final loss to the Tahs was the most physical match they played in Super Rugby ever. .

We tossed the kitchen sink on the Warata defense line that night . . . But they held out and faced a number of fatal blows.

I think his greatest strength as a coach lies in his ability to press the emotional buttons of his players, by sending the right message and at the right time..

A skill that’s easier said than done, and repeated pressing of a player’s emotional buttons can have a price.

Every time you press the « shoot » button and convince a player to « dig deep » and « run through a brick wall », the player places his confidence in the coach that he will emerge victorious from the other side.

But once the fiery player does not break through the wall and start losing, the player loses faith in what they are told, and well-received messages early start to fall into deaf ears.

I did one tour of Wallaby under the supervision of the sheikh. It taught me a lot on that trip, including the power of symbolism.

How symbols can be used to convey a message and how do they represent values ​​to the people who aspire to them.

At one of the team meetings, he talked a lot about the Australian coat, and how neither kangaroos nor EMU can walk backwards.

He went to great lengths to get us to write a collective poem / doctrine. I think the 2015 team might have used it during their championship campaign all the way to the FIFA Club World Cup Final.

But after a while, I realized he was trying to convince us to define who we were. To write on paper what we defended and how we wanted to represent our people.

And I really liked the analogy « Let the club swing » he used with the Warata team on their way to the premiership for 2014.

And although I hadn’t heard him say it directly, the message to « try » and not worry about the outcome really resonated, because I got back into my shell many times after some really heavy losses..

Now, none of the impressive work of coach Mario Ledesma and the Argentine players should take away, but for the Wallabies to win on Saturday, they will need to beat the most vibrant and confident Argentine team in years.. .

A team determined to represent its people with pride and bring some joy to a country that was doing so hard.

Like Eddie Jones and Bernie Larkham, I hope one day we can see Sheikh coaching an Australian team, and I wish him all the best.. . . Not just this weekend!

Michael Sheikha, Australia National Rugby National Team, New Zealand National Rugby Union Team, Rugby Ball, Rugby League World Cup, Head Coach, Lebanon, Argentina Rugby Union National Team