Michael Cheika overcame a deflating rookie campaign before guiding Leinster to European Cup glory and believes the experience has him in good stead to prepare the New South Wales Waratahs for a tilt at a maiden Super Rugby title.
In his first year in charge, the fiery Australian took the Irish side to the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition in 2005/06, but their tournament ended at Lansdowne Road with a stinging 30-6 loss to eventual champions Munster.
Three years later under Cheika, Leinster avenged the defeat in the 2008/09 semi-finals at Croke Park before claiming their first European trophy with a tight win over Leicester at Murrayfield.
“When I started with Leinster and we got to the [European Cup] semi-final in the first year, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing,” Cheika told Reuters in a phone interview.
“I’d experienced it as a player but I didn’t really know what to do. I definitely think I got that part, that little last week of the season wrong.
“I was just maybe too hyped up and maybe too focused on the wrong things, but I was only young.
“It was my first year as a professional coach. I didn’t even really know what the [European] Cup was, really, let alone being in a semi-final against Munster at Lansdowne Road. It was just a totally different thing.”
Cheika will take the Waratahs into their first play-offs campaign in three years, having lifted the Wallabies-laden team out of a funk and into a force in less than two seasons in the southern hemisphere tournament.
Once harangued by their demanding fans, the Sydney team are now the toast of Australia for topping the regular season table for the first time and will play last year’s finalists, the ACT Brumbies, at home on Saturday for a place in the title-decider.
The rare occasion of two local sides facing off in the Super Rugby semi-finals is a mouth-watering prospect for Australian rugby fans, and a big contingent of Brumbies supporters are tipped to make the three-hour drive up the Hume Highway from Canberra to roar on their team at Sydney Football Stadium.
The Waratahs are favoured to advance to a third final after finishing the regular season in ominous form and will be eager to get back on the pitch after a two-week rest period filled with media hype.
“At the end of the day, (the hype) has no net effect as to what happens inside the white lines over 80 minutes,” Cheika added.
“None. So, you just deal with the things as you would any game normally. You understand when kickoff comes, you’ve got to turn up the volume a bit on the match, not on all the stuff that goes around the match.
“I access the stuff I’ve learnt (from Leinster). I definitely didn’t know that all the time ... You’re allowed to make a mistake here and there. I think that experience there should help us down the track.”
Variously described as a strict disciplinarian, a visionary and, by his former Leinster players, a “madman”, Cheika’s straight shooting and occasional emotional outbursts have generated almost as many headlines as his winning team.
The former Randwick and Stade Francais backrower was sent a damage bill by the Brumbies for breaking a glass door in the coaches’ box at Canberra Stadium after a season-opening loss.
He was handed a suspended six-month ban by Super Rugby’s tournament organisers in April after a heated confrontation with a cameraman during a spiteful loss to the Sharks in Durban.
Fans at Sydney Football Stadium might be advised to steer clear of the Waratahs coaches’ box if defeat befalls the hosts on Saturday, but Cheika said if his team were to go down, they would be going down swinging.
They would not go conservative and change their high-tempo, attacking style for anyone, Cheika said, not least the Brumbies, who boast a potent backline of their own and showcased their scoring power in recent weeks.
“From our point of view we’re just going to play our style,” Cheika said.
“I don’t think it needs to be more attritional. I think it will get more physical, that’s for sure. I know it’s not smart of me to go and talk about strategy but we won’t be changing.
“I think it’s important to our supporters that we keep playing the same way.”
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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