EXCLUSIVE Michael Cheika interview: Inside the Premiership's biggest signing's masterplan for bringing the good times back to Leicester Tigers Michael Cheika detailed his plans for Leicester Tigers in an exclusive interview By Chris Foy Published: 21:00 EDT, 20 September 2024 | Updated: 21:00 EDT, 20 September 2024 e-mail View comments When the great and the good of Leicester's past gathered for lunch on Thursday, Michael Cheika was asked to address them and the occasion left him in no doubt about the club's towering expectations. There were six World Cup winners in the room, led by the iconic captain, Martin Johnson, who has been instrumental in the creation of the 'Sabretooth Tigers' — as in, long-in-the-tooth former players. All around were decorated Lions, Test legends, title winners and revered local stalwarts.
It is just as well Cheika is used to high-stakes coaching, because his guest appearance highlighted the culture of success at what remains the biggest club in English rugby. 'I don't know if there's pressure,' says the Australian, in an exclusive interview with Mail Sport. 'I don't feel it, I suppose.
I don't see it as pressure, I see it as responsibility. Here, there is a reputation for success. It's the first time I've been somewhere like that.
We don't have to just live up to that reputation, we have to give it a few more coats of paint. We want to add our part to a rich history.' Attending the 'long lunch' certainly served to sharpen his focus, ahead of his .