Cheika sidesteps Gloucester link

SPOTLIGHT: Former Australia rugby coach Michael Cheika has played down links with the vacant job at English Premiership side Gloucester, saying he is still searching for the right opportunity.

Cheika quit as Wallabies coach in October after Australia's humiliating World Cup quarter-final exit against England and is currently a consultant with rugby league side Sydney Roosters.

British media reports said he was among the candidates interviewed for Gloucester after coach Johan Ackermann resigned last month to join Japanese side NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes.

*Also read: Ackermann's replacement revealed 

"I haven't had anything to do with them," Cheika, who has previously coached with Leinster, Stade Francais, and the NSW Waratahs, told rugby.com.au late Sunday.

"They've always been a good team, I only know of them as an opponent," he said, adding "It's nothing I'm involved with at the moment."

Cheika, who was the Australia coach for five years, steering them to the 2015 Rugby World Cup final, said he had been to Europe talking to people about opportunities, but nothing fitted so far.

"For me, the important thing for next is making sure it's the right people that I get to work with, right club and that it's the right time for someone like me," he said.

"Coaches don't always fit, you want to be the right person and for it be a team that will use the skill sets short to medium term."

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