International – Michael Cheika, his very strong link with Lebanon

If anyone is closely following the situation in Lebanon, it’s good Michael Cheikacurrent Leicester coachafter having directed two national selections (Australia and Argentina)a Top 14 team (Stade Français), a major Celtic franchise (Leinster) and a Super Rugby franchise (the Waratahs). This pure product of Australian rugby was born to Christian Lebanese parents who emigrated to the island continent in 1950 and 1960. He has kept a very strong link with the country of the Cedar, whose every upheaval he follows. He kept aunts, uncles and cousins ​​there. Part of his family lives in Beirut, the other in the north of the country, an area that one might have thought less affected than the south, except that on Friday, bombings also hit the Tripoli region. Michael Cheika follows it day by day from his English home: “Obviously I am very touched and very sad by what is happening there. It is hard to see everything that is happening in this country after the covid crisis, the economic crisis and the explosion of the port from Beirut I know that at a certain point, people couldn’t even withdraw money from their bank accounts.”

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But the current crisis is of another nature since the country serves as a theater for clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shiite party allied with Iran, fighting mercilessly: “We must understand that what is happening is not the fault of the Lebanese. I still have a lot of family there.” For Michael Cheika, the crises Lebanon is going through go far beyond simple emotional solidarity. He experienced the problems of the Middle East directly and personally. “The last time there was war, in 2006, I was there. It was very hard, and I was finally able to leave via Syria by plane in an atmosphere of terror. He There were evacuations by boat while the Beirut airport was bombed. But after three or four days, I left by car towards the north. I was alone because my Lebanese family wanted to stay in the country. seeing and hearing the bombs fall, believe me, it’s very traumatic. I can imagine all these children who can’t get out of their homes to play ball.

A connection with the Lebanese thirteens

In fact, Michael Cheika, who coached Leinster, went to Lebanon to attend the funeral of one of his cousins. Two days later, the Israelis attacked the country to attack Hezbollah, which, at the time, was part of the country’s government. The former Wallabies coach remembers long hours of anxiety, cars and crowds gathered at border posts. “I managed to find a slightly less crowded crossing point to the north, near the sea. And I found myself in a no man’s land for about ten hours with lots of people who didn’t know exactly what to do. Some were injured. I was seeking a visa and found myself in Damascus at 4 a.m. after leaving northern Lebanon at 6 a.m. the day before. At six o’clock, I finally reached the airport, without a ticket. And I was accepted on an Air France flight which took me to Dublin with a stopover in Paris.” Without his Australian passport, Michael Cheika would undoubtedly not have been able to leave this country at war so quickly. “I still have a lot of cousins, uncles and aunts. No one can work now, the economic crisis is even worse than what I experienced in 2006.”

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However, we forget too much in France, Michael Cheika is an official personality in Lebanon, since he is coach of the national rugby union teamquarter-finalist of the last World Cup. An additional connection with this small country that is still, in part, French-speaking. He spoke about these latter players with the managers and players who live there: “I of course hope to be able to return to Lebanon also through this means, at least for internships, if the level of security allows it, because you should know that our team includes a lot of Australians of Lebanese origin, like me, but there are also thirteen players who live in Lebanon. It’s very hard for them too and I would like to play a match one day against France, it happened in 2002 I think. Lebanese soil Rugby league is a source of satisfaction for Lebanon, even if this sport is not yet hyperpopular there, but it allows people to see their flag flying in a context preserved from politics, in the joy of sportsmanship.” Michael Cheika has always given the image of a passionate coach, frank in his words, and when we see him explaining a tactic or a strategy to us, we almost forget that he doesn’t just have rugby in his life. He has had many other experiences, including seeing weapons pointed at him in 2006, on the land of his ancestors so often martyred.