Parling going home to replace Cheika after Lions tour
The Englishman who helped Joe Schmidt oversee the Wallabies' Twickenham heist in November, their first win at England's HQ since the 2015 World Cup, is going home, but only after trying to help mastermind a similar triumph against the British & Irish Lions this winter.
Australia assistant coach Geoff Parling is returning to take charge at Leicester Tigers, his former team, where in a curious twist he will replace former Australia head coach Michael Cheika.
Parling has been in Australia long enough to have kids who "speak with a proper Australian twang now", having previously played and coached at Melbourne Rebels.
But they will get the chance to sound a bit more like Dad after the 41-year-old joins up with Leicester, in the English midlands, in August.
Parling spent six seasons playing for Leicester, where he won two English league titles, and also represented the Lions on their celebrated 2013 triumph in Australia.
"There are not many opportunities that would make myself and my family think about leaving Australia, the place we've called home for the past seven years," Parling said, "but coming back to Leicester Tigers is one that we are really looking forward to."
"I was lucky enough to have some incredible moments in the Leicester Tigers jersey, made through hard work by good people, and so I am extremely proud to be coming back to lead the club," Parling added to the club website on Monday.
Parling told Rugby AU's website, "There's still plenty of work to do with the Wallabies and I am very much focused on the immediate challenges ahead with the British & Irish Lions Series just around the corner.
After a warm-up Test against Fiji on 6 July Australia play a three-Test series against the Lions from 19 July to 2 August.
"I have felt incredibly privileged to work with a number of great people in my time here and would especially like to thank Joe [Schmidt] for the environment he has created at the Wallabies," Parling added.
"My family and I originally came to Australia for seven months and will now be leaving after seven years proud to call ourselves Australian citizens, and lucky to have lived in such a great community. I'm looking forward to continuing to work hard with our great staff and leaving Australia on a positive note."
Rugby Australia's director of high performance, Peter Horne, said, "Since arriving in Australia, Geoff has given his heart and soul to Australian Rugby and for that we are very grateful.
"We are obviously sad to see him go but we understand the opportunity presented to him by Leicester Tigers is a good one for his family and career."
Cheika, who led the Wallabies for 68 Tests between 2014 and 2019, had announced in late January he was stepping down at Leicester, a role he took on a one-year deal following the exit of another Australian, Dan McKellar.
Leicester sit second in the Premiership table ahead of the final two sets of regular season fixtures but the five-time finalists went out in the last 16 round of the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Parling's decision follows that of Schmidt to quit Australia for family reasons with the New Zealander leaving in mid-2026. Queensland Reds' Les Kiss will then take over as the Wallabies build up to the home-hosted 2027 Rugby World Cup.
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