New Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says he is prepared to take on ARU brass if it’s best for the team

IF Robbie Deans was Dingo, meet Australian rugby’s new Pitbull.

Michael Cheika named as Wallabies coach

IF Robbie Deans was Dingo, meet Australian rugby’s new Pitbull.

And as far as new coach Michael Cheika is concerned, even the boss won’t be spared a mauling if it’s in the Wallabies’ best interest.

“I wouldn’t be scared to say if I thought there was something I thought was going to be for the betterment of the team, we could have a rumble about it,” Cheika said yesterday.

As widely forecast after Ewen McKenzie’s sudden resignation last Saturday — or even before it — Cheika was unveiled as the new Wallabies coach in Sydney yesterday, and true to style, the NSW mentor immediately confronted a thorny issue.

Sitting next to embattled ARU boss Bill Pulver, with whom he’s rumoured to have a shaky relationship, Cheika admitted he’d “battled” with Pulver in the past but was now focused on a unified front to restore the flagging reputation of Australian rugby.

FIVE BURNING QUESTIONS FACING MICHAEL CHEIKA

To a point, however.

“I am not afraid to admit I have had a rumble with guys in here on contracts and to get stuff sorted, and if I wasn’t doing that on a day-to-day basis, I wouldn’t be getting the result that I want with the Waratahs. That doesn’t mean I don’t like someone personally,” Cheika said.

“I was saying to the lads before we don’t all need to be holding hands and singing we are the world together. We need to be able to understand what the objective is.

“We have to do the best possible job, united together for the people who we are all answerable too, and that’s the Australian rugby supporters. We want them to be extremely proud of the team that runs out each week, win, lose or draw. That’s something that’s very important to me.”

Though initially pushing for a five-year deal, Cheika signed on a three-year deal reportedly loaded with so many bonuses he could earn up to $1 million a season.

Cheika backs himself with confidence but success in 2015 will be a high-pressure gig, with the 47-year-old to juggle both Waratahs and Wallabies head coach jobs until July.

State rivals welcomed the appointment cautiously yesterday but the issue of inserting firewalls for Cheika in areas such as contact with players mid-season and contracting will be a topic of conversation at a CEOs meeting in Sydney today.

KURTLEY BEALE’S SPRING TOUR HINGES ON MEETING

Cheika attempted to circumvent such problems by recruiting Stephen Larkham and Michael Foley as assistants (neither could commit to the Spring Tour) but the Wallabies coach believes his new role could be an opportunity to finally achieve unity between the states.

“That relationship for me with those guys (coaches) with the states as a whole, in how we want to try and build the identity of the Australian team is really, really important,” Cheika said.

“That idea of leading the way in relation to how we’re dealing with the states, when it is Australian time we are collaborating meaningfully for the best outcome for the Australian team, on the national stage, and then we go back to our provinces, we get stuck into each other when it’s gametime. We want to rip into each other. That’s a great lead for the … players.”

Cheika paid tribute to former coach Ewen McKenzie for his contribution to Australian rugby but as expected let go of some of his team — Jim McKay and Nick Scrivener — to appoint NSW ally Nathan Grey as a defence coach. Andrew Blades stayed on for continuity as forwards coach.

Though the clock is ticking until next year’s World Cup, Cheika said he wouldn’t look to reinvent the Wallaby wheel on the forthcoming tour; in which cities he didn’t even know were on the itinerary.

“To be honest, I wasn’t even sure where they were going,” he said.

Cheika indicated he wanted players to “clear their heads” of the divisive dramas of the past month — including the Beale-Patston-McKenzie saga — from their heads but said he didn’t feel apprehensive about taking the job with the ARU under heavy fire for its handling of it all.

“As opposed to sitting on the sideline and throwing eggs, (it was a chance to) get in there and say “let’s see if I can help make a difference and put a smile on people’s faces when they’re watching the game”,” Cheika said. “There was no hesitation in me.”

Beale faces a Code of Conduct tribunal tomorrow night over the text message affair, and speculation has emerged Cheika insisted Beale wouldn’t be sacked as part of his deal.

Pulver said the Beale issue was not raised in discussions, however, and Cheika declined to comment on his Tahs player to not “prejudice” the hearing.

Pulver accepted responsibility for the ARU’s recent woes, which has he and several board members reportedly under pressure to remain in their roles.

“I am accountable for Australian rugby and I accept that totally. As the chief executive I am clearly accountable. There are a lot of issues that have been in the spotlight in particular surrounding Kurtley Beale (and) Ewen McKenzie, among others. All of those will be reviewed in due course,” Pulver said.

“I am very conscious, ultimately, that my position involves being a custodian for the game. I am very concerned for the image of the game, and I want to deal with these issues as openly and honestly as I can. I hope we start to resolve them. and get the focus on the rugby.”