Michael Cheika to England: RFU president Jason Leonard 'sounds out' Australia coach to replace Stuart Lancaster

News has emerged in Australia that Rugby World Cup winner Leonard is looking into a possible approach for the Wallabies' head coach

Jack de Menezes

Monday 09 November 2015 12:40 GMT

Australia head coach Michael Cheika following the Rugby World Cup final (Getty Images)

The Rugby Football Union are being linked with a move for Australia head coach Michael Cheika in a bid to replace Stuart Lancaster, according to reports in Australia.

Cheika led the Wallabies to the Rugby World Cup final last month, only to come up short against New Zealand in a 34-17 loss to their Trans-Tasman rivals. Despite the defeat, Cheika has worked wonders to restore Australia’s reputation in rugby union, and won World Rugby’s Coach of the Year award as acknowledgement for his work with the national set-up.

However, The Australian are reporting that former England international and current RFU president Jason Leonard has expressed an interest in approaching Cheika with a few to offering him the chance to replace Lancaster after England’s dismal showing at their own World Cup.

Cheika is only contract with the Australian Rugby Union until 2017, and with the RFU currently carrying out a full review into Lancaster and his coaching team, changes are expected to come in the near future.

Having lost to Australia as well as Wales, England became the first host nation to fail to make it out of the pool stage at a World Cup, while Lancaster has also come under fire for his selection of Sam Burgess – who has since left Bath and rugby union as a whole to return to rugby league with former side South Sydney Rabbitohs after just one year in the 15-man code.

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

Show all 15

1/15Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

15. Ben Smith (New Zealand)

He did not look quite so special sitting on the naughty step, watching the Wallabies resurrect themselves against an understaffed silver-ferned defence, but the Otago full-back was the quintessence of All Black rugby: bold, skillful and too clever for words. Silver medal: Ayumu Goromaru (Japan)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

14. Santiago Cordero (Argentina)

Far from complete – witness his difficulties in contact on semi-final day against Australia – but the 21-year-old from Buenos Aires was one of those most responsible for the new Puma style. A broken-field specialist who breaks the field on his own. Silver medal: Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

13. Conrad Smith (New Zealand)

Understated? That’s an understatement. But genius of the quiet kind is still genius – watch his role in creating the opening try in the final – and as he winds down, he joins Gerber, Sella, Guscott, Umaga and O’Driscoll in the pantheon. Silver medal: Marcello Bosch (Argentina)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

12. Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)

If he’d done only what it said on the tin, he’d have been easier to handle. Unfortunately for his opponents, his skill set ran wider and deeper than popularly assumed. Big plays in big matches from a very big bloke. Silver medal: Matt Giteau (Australia)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

11. D T H Van der Merwe (Canada)

Who? Let’s put it this way: if those All Black wings were on Easy Street, living life on the front foot and gorging on opportunities created by a stellar midfield, this fellow performed loaves-and-fishes miracles in a very limited team. Silver medal: Julian Savea (New Zealand)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

10. Dan Carter (New Zealand)

There were rich pickings in this position – Dan Biggar, Nicolas Sanchez, Bernard Foley – but who could seriously dispute that the millionaire performances came from the best outside-half of the professional era. His drop goals alone were worth a king’s ransom. Silver medal: Dan Biggar (Wales)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

9. Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)

A goal-kicking general in the French tradition, the captain emptied himself in an effort to keep his side in a tournament many feared might end depressingly quickly. But for some poor refereeing, he’d have made it to the last weekend. Silver medal: Fourie du Preez (South Africa)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

1. Marcos Ayerza (Argentina)

He would cringe at the thought of the comparison, but the Puma loose-head specialist is the Dan Carter of his position. A master front-rower with an artistic streak, how does he play Bach on the piano with those fingers? Silver medal: Mihail Nariashvili (Georgia)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

2. Shota Horie (Japan)

Japan weren’t meant to be able to scrummage and nobody gave them a prayer at the line-out, so the hooker must have been doing a hell of a lot right during the pool stages. He could throw a pass, too. Silver medal: Agustin Creevy (Argentina)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

3. W P Nel (Scotland)

Agreed, he’s a South African from the Northern Cape rather than a Scot from the highlands, but he worked wonders for the blue-shirted front row. A genuine scrum-breaker and durable with it, he gave his side the platform they craved. Silver medal: Manasa Saulo (Fiji)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

4. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)

Crikey, what a player. The man from Rangiora out-ran, out-jumped, out-carried, out-tackled, out-rucked and out-thought his rivals. Scariest of all, he could be the mother lode figure in the New Zealand pack for two more World Cup cycles at least. Silver medal: Kane Douglas (Australia)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

5. Leone Nakarawa (Fiji)

Rugby athleticism made flesh. Some of his open-field running beggared belief, especially when the Pacific islanders took Wales to the limit of their endurance in Cardiff, and the technical aspects of his game were almost as impressive. A star turn. Silver medal: Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

6. Scott Fardy (Australia)

If the Wallabies had gone the whole way, the blind-side flanker would have deserved a specially-minted medal all of his own for services rendered in the face of widespread ignorance. His contribution went unrecognised by too many for too long. Silver medal: Michael Leitch (Japan)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand)

He does not lord it over his rivals as he once did: it could be argued that Francois Louw, Michael Hooper and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe matched him blow for blow. But once again, he was the last man standing. Silver medal: Francois Louw (South Africa)

2015 Getty Images

Rugby World Cup team of the tournament

8. David Pocock (Australia)

Head, shoulders, waist and knees above the other 8s in the tournament, performing the role in an unorthodox but highly effective fashion. A prime example of a deep thinker away from the game bringing depth of thought to his rugby. Silver medal: Taulupe Faletau (Wales)

2015 Getty Images

It’s understood that Cheika is hopeful of leading Australia to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan where he will have a full four-year cycle under his belt as national team coach – something he did not have at England 2015 after taking the Wallabies’ top job last year following hugely successful spells with Leinster and the Waratahs that surrounded a difficult spell with French side Stade Francais.

But given that the RFU preside over the wealthiest budget in rugby union, they would certainly have the financial firepower to give Cheika a lucrative offer to ponder.

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