Cheika has wings clipped in Wallabies shake-up

Michael Cheika has kept his job as head coach of Australia but his role will be significantly diminished next year with the arrival of Scott Johnson as director of rugby.

Johnson, currently working in a similar role with Scotland, will return home after the Six Nations, having signed a three-year contract with Rugby Australia. Cheika and Johnson, along with a third independent selector to be confirmed early next month, will form a threepronged selection committee.

Given Cheika’s success on his own as head coach with the Waratahs, winning Super Rugby in 2014, followed by guiding the Wallabies to a World Cup final on short notice, Johnson’s appointment signifies a dent in his reputation.

Australia won just four of their 13 matches this year, a sharp drop from losing only five of 14 Tests in 2017, leading to speculation that Cheika would not last through to next year’s World Cup.

Johnson, 56, has worked as Scotland director of rugby following his stint as interim head coach from 2012-14. He has also been Wales caretaker coach and head coach of the United States and the Ospreys.

His remit includes overseeing the Wallabies and aligning the national side with the country’s four Super Rugby franchises, in a clear move to copy the successful models run by New Zealand and Ireland.

Changes may be made to the Wallabies coaching staff, which currently includes Simon Raiwalui (forwards), Stephen Larkham (attack), Nathan Grey (defence) and Mick Byrne (skills).

“We have worked closely with the Super Rugby teams and I want to thank them for their support of a unified approach to ensuring we will have the right structure in place to achieve long-term success,” said Raelene Castle, RA chief executive.

“We have assessed the high-performance areas where we need improvement and measured ourselves against systems across our international competitors.”

Rugby Australia also announced the introduction of a “Fighting Fund” to help attract the best young sporting talent in the country to rugby union, with intense competition from rugby league and Aussie rules.

The development comes a week after highly-rated Reds back Izaia Perese switched codes to join rugby league side Brisbane Broncos.