No talks with O'Driscoll yet: Waratahs

[The InnFORCEr]

James MacSmith,
AAP
October 17, 2012, 11:04 am

New Waratahs' coach Michael Cheika has not spoken with Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll since taking the reins of the Super Rugby franchise a month ago but says NSW remain interested in the services of the British and Irish Lions captain.

The Irish skipper was quoted in the UK press, again talking of his desire to reunite with his former Leinster mentor Cheika in Australia.

O'Driscoll's contract ends next June and he enticingly suggested he could join NSW after the Lions tour, saying "'Cheiks' has my number, so if he wants to get me he can give me a call".

But Cheika said he'd had no contact with O'Driscoll since officially taking over at the Waratahs on September 18.

"Obviously I know Brian very well. It is no secret that he is one of a number of top players over there who would love to come down and play in the Super 15," Cheika told AAP on Wednesday.

"I saw him before I left - I went to say goodbye. But we haven't spoken since.

"I wouldn't want to do that to him or the club. He is in the middle of a season, the Heineken Cup is still on and they are focusing on that.

"It is still my club and it is very close to me and I would not want to disrupt their season. That is Brian saying how he feels about things and what he might like to do."

Cheika's three-year mission to revitalise the ailing Wallabies kicked off on Wednesday when they began their pre-season training.

After a disastrous 2012, which ended in a record eight straight losses, the Heineken Cup-winning coach was upbeat about the season ahead.

The recruitment of South African halfback Sarel Pretorious as a marquee player was one of many black marks in the Waratahs' past season. But Cheika said the bad experience with Pretorious would not influence the Waratahs' thinking and that O'Driscoll's signing remained a possibility.

"It would be a big decision for him to leave Ireland but the thought is there with all the top players they would all love to come down and have a try - there is no doubt about that," he said.
"We don't have a marquee player ... and whether we would go down that road is something we would have to discuss."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...-yet-waratahs/


Ok so Chieka hasn't spoken with him, but someone no doubt has, smoke and fire thing

[Marty_Mcfly]

Cheika's three-year mission to revitalise the ailing Wallabies kicked off on Wednesday when they began their pre-season training.

i know they probably think they are the centre of the rugby universe down at tahHQ, but come on!!

[beige]

New Waratahs' coach Michael Cheika has not spoken with Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll since taking the reins of the Super Rugby franchise a month ago but says NSW remain interested in the services of the British and Irish Lions captain.

Sounds like me when there's a girl I'm interested in

[The InnFORCEr]

James MacSmith, AAP
Updated October 18, 2012, 10:27 am

NSW Waratahs coach Michael Cheika has revealed Brian O'Driscoll's touted move to Sydney could become a reality thanks to the high-powered intervention from a cashed-up sponsor shared by the Super Rugby franchise and the Ireland captain.

O'Driscoll has repeatedly spoken publicly and to his good friend Cheika, who he worked under at Irish provincial side Leinster, about playing in the southern hemisphere competition.

With the Waratahs struggling on the field, and battling for exposure off it, Cheika only has to look across to Moore Park neighbours A-League's Sydney FC to see the impact a world-class international recruit - in their case Italian superstar Alessandro Del Piero - can have.

And a possible third-party deal with the help of HSBC, who have sponsored the Waratahs for the past 11 years and count O'Driscoll as an official ambassador, could bring similar benefits to NSW.

"Brian is an ambassador for HSBC and he has an arrangement with them to promote them through rugby," Cheika said.

"He is contracted to them and is doing part of the (British and Irish) Lions preparation with them because they are a sponsor there too. He has a deal with them which includes such things as speaking engagements and writing articles for them, which obviously promote them and the game."

O'Driscoll is off contract in June next year and, while his signing would be a major coup for the Waratahs, Cheika said there was a way to go before it became a reality.

"The top players in the world like Brian would all like to come down and see how they fare down here but you have to remember it is very difficult for Irish players to leave Ireland," Cheika said.

"Because when they retire, they get a big tax back payment. He is obviously one of the highest-paid players in Ireland, so it would be a big decision for him to come here.

"But there is no doubt the thought about coming down here is with a lot of the top players over there. Whether it becomes a reality is something else."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...waratahs-move/


Where there is smoke.........

[Happy]

is that a fact TIF??

[shasta]

Great player - one of the best ever actually. But he will be 35 by then.
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