Michael Cheika reinforces staff with Simon Raiwalui as forwards coach

Australia’s new forwards coach will be former Fijian lock Simon Raiwalui.

Former Fiji lock Simon Raiwalui has been appointed as the Wallabies’ new forwards coach. Picture: AFP

On a day when Australian rugby celebrated its diversity and inclusiveness, it was appropriate Simon Raiwalui should be announced as the new Wallabies forwards coach through to the end of next year.

The 43-year-old veteran of 39 Tests for Fiji is an old playing and coaching rival of Michael Cheika and will join up with the Wallabies as soon as his duties with his French club, Biarritz, end.

And while Cheika was quick to say he considered Raiwalui the best candidate for the job, he also acknowledged that as an islander he would have an easy rapport with the many islanders in the ­national side. In the match-day Test squad of 23 that Australia fielded against Scotland last year, 10 players were of islander ­heritage.

“There could have been some more straightforward choices but I think Simon is the perfect fit,” Cheika said. “It’s important to be able to communicate with all the players but I suppose (the fact he is an islander) could be something important.”

Raiwalui joins Cheika, assistant coaches Steve Larkham and Nathan Grey and skills coach Mick Byrne on the national team coaching staff, finally forming Australia’s World Cup coaching unit.

At 206cm, Raiwalui must have cut an imposing figure when playing as a lock for Manly in the Shute Shield back in the 1990s when Cheika was playing for Randwick.

“Back in those days, it was ­always physical. No one was going to the sin bin, that’s for sure,” Cheika said.

The announcement of Raiwalui replacement for former scrum guru Mario Ledesma coincided with the launch of Rugby Australia’s “Part of More” campaign, which aims to show rugby in a new light.

RA chief executive Raelene Castle, acknowledging that the public perception of rugby was of an elitist game, said: “I know rugby hasn’t done a good job of that in the past.

“It doesn’t matter what colour, race, creed or gender you are, when you go to a rugby club, you’re going to feel welcome.”

Cheika, meanwhile, will be going out of his way to make 30-odd Irish visitors to Australia feel anything but welcome when they land here in June.

Joe Schmidt’s Irish side will be venturing south armed with the title of Grand Slam winners of the Six Nations title, and will be endeavouring to do what Eddie Jones’ England side did in 2016; win all three June Tests against the Wallabies.

“Ireland have taken the bar up (from England) in terms of consistency of playing,” said Cheika, who was at Twickenham two weekends ago to watch them beat England to clinch the Grand Slam.

“I’d be surprised if they didn’t bring everyone. They’re No 2 in the world and they’d be looking to keep that status going into next year’s World Cup.”

Cheika is confident his squad has the smarts to test the Irish.

“There is a lot more experience now,” he said, pointing to the likes of Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda, Reece Hodge and Marika Koroibete as players who had emerged as serious internationals over the past two years.

Cheika said he was liking what he was seeing in Super Rugby, as all four Australian teams showed resilience in staging comebacks and handling travel nightmares.

The Reds have the bye this week as the two Australian sides that had last weekend off, the Brumbies and the Waratahs, will do battle in the national capital on Saturday. Super Rugby leaders, the Melbourne Rebels, will get to benchmark themselves against one of the most formidable sides in the competition, the Hurricanes, in the first trans-Tasman match-up of 2018, at AAMI Park on Friday night.

The Kiwis swept aside their Australian rivals in all 26 Super Rugby clashes last season, but Rebels coach Dave Wessels is paying that statistic little heed.

“We want to walk away from the game knowing we have given our best,” Wessels said.

He expects everyone from hooker Jordan Uelese to fullback Dane Haylett-Petty, who missed the Sharks last Friday because of injury, will be fit for Friday night.

Meanwhile, former Wallaby Jeff Miller has completed the circle after being confirmed as Queensland Rugby Union chairman with immediate effect, taking over from Damien Frawley.

Miller has represented Queensland as a player, Reds coach and QRU chief executive officer, president and now chairman. Frawley will continue to play a role in bringing about the redevelopment of Ballymore.