Former Leinster and Australia coach Michael Cheika has been appointed coach of Argentina through to the 2023 World Cup in France, with current Leinster backs coach Felipe Contepomi set to be part of the new management ticket, according to reports.
Cheika worked with the Pumas for the last two years as an assistant to former head coach Mario Ledesma, who stepped down last month after a string of poor results.
The two have had a long history of working together with Ledesma serving as scrum coach under the Australian at the Wallabies.
Cheika, 55, beat out former Pumas playmaker Gonzalo Quesada, the head coach of French club Stade Francais, to replace Ledesma.
Contepomi will join Cheika's staff with the intention of succeeding him after next year's World Cup in France, says Argentine daily newspaper La Nacion.
Only last month, current Leinster coach Leo Cullen said it was natural for Contepomi to be linked with the vacant Argentina job.
Cheika guided Leinster to Heineken Cup success in 2009 and also had success with Super Rugby side New South Wales Waratahs. He led the Wallabies to the final of the 2015 World Cup in England.
He resigned in acrimony four years later, however, after Australia crashed out of the World Cup quarter-finals in Japan, matching their worst result at the global tournament.
Additional reporting Reuters
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