'We can do something great': Lebanon mission goes beyond the field

Michael Cheika’s father Joe used to describe himself as Lebanese-Australian, whereas the former Wallabies coach was Australian-Lebanese.

Cheika, who will this weekend coach the Cedars in their World Cup quarter-final against the Kangaroos, is using the opportunity to educate his team of mostly Australian-born players about the troubles in the country and help connect them with their culture.

Besides devising tactics that have surprised opponents, such as short kick-offs against New Zealand and ball stripping against Ireland, Cheika has used a series of videos to inspire his players.

Among them are a short video about the turmoil in Lebanon and the success of the Cedars that is set to the U2 song, ‘Cedars of Lebanon’, and the award-winning documentary ‘Enough! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour’.

They have also watched highlights of the 2002 Test at Tripoli’s International Stadium in which a 9000-strong crowd cheered the John Elias-coached Cedars upset France 36-6.

Robbie Farah, who is now an assistant to Cheika, played in the Test as a 19-year-old halfback.

“The sport has given the boys an opportunity to be connected with Lebanon in a way that they never would have otherwise,” said Cheika, who will also coach the Argentina rugby union team against England on the weekend.

“I know it has given me an opportunity, as the son of two Lebanese parents born and growing up here in Australia, to truly connect back to a place where our heritage is.

“We are also very conscious of the troubles and the hardships that have taken place in Lebanon.

“It is such a beautiful place that is getting crushed from all angles and we want to give the people in that country a chance to forget about the troubles for 80 minutes and, even if they don’t know a lot about rugby league, wave their flag and cheer Lebanon, which they don’t get to do in many sports.”

The Cedars have two players in their World Cup squad and another three training with the team who are from Lebanon but the rest are from Sydney.

Among them are NRL stars Mitchell Moses (Eels), Adam Doueihi (Wests Tigers), Josh Mansour (Rabbitohs), Jacob Kiraz (Bulldogs) and James Roumanos (Sea Eagles).

"I don’t really know what it is like in Lebanon but a couple of weeks ago we watched a documentary, 'Enough', about what is going on there," Roumanos said. 

"That really hit home for me. It was very educational and gave a clear picture of who we are playing for and what they are going through.

"If we can be heroes for people over there and give them something to look forward to we have done our job."

As he prepared the team in Leeds this week, Cheika said: “If you see the way the boys sing the anthem on field, it’s not like they’ve just memorised the words, they know what they mean and how important it is to everyone watching in Lebanon”.

While few give Cheika’s team any hope of upsetting Australia at Huddersfield, he has instilled belief and confidence in the players as they draw inspiration from the national symbol of Lebanon, the Cedar tree.

“The performances that we put in, if they mirror the things that the Cedar tree gives us in terms of longevity, power, resilience and a huge shadow to rest under when you are fatigued, then as a team we can do something great,” he said.

Better than 2017

Lebanon's success at the World Cup should come as no surprise as the team qualified for the quarter-finals at the 2017 tournament and were beaten 24-22 by Tonga in Christchurch.

Tonga suffered a controversial 20-18 semi-final loss to England, who went down to Australia 6-0 in the final at Suncorp Stadium, with the close results convincing players that they can upset the Kangaroos.

“We played the Kangaroos in 2017 and we really stuck with them. I think it was 12-0 at halftime," Wigan winger Abbas Miski recalled.

"I would say we weren’t as good in attack as I think we are now and we have improved since that World Cup, as a growing nation."

Kiraz, who caused Lebanon to be stripped of points at the World Cup Nines in 2019 as he had not yet turned 18 years-of-age, said he was proud to represent his heritage against the Kangaroos.

“It means everything to me. My grand parents were born in Lebanon and my parents were born in Australia so every time I put the jersey on it is just an honour," he said.

"I get emotional and I just want to play my heart out every time I wear that jersey. I just want to lead all the young people and hopefully get more Lebanese players in the NRL. Next year I will go to Lebanon, that’s the goal."

Cheika to stay on

The way Cheika believes the Cedars can shock the Kangaroos is by being innovative and he has devised tactics for each game, along with Farah and Sydney Roosters assistant coach Matt King.

Against the Kiwis in the opening round, Lebanon repeatedly won the ball back from union-style short kick-offs and the Cedars produced six one-on-one ball strips in the first half of their win against Ireland. 

"Adam Doueihi's boot is so good and he's got so much hang-time, we thought why not give it a crack?," said Mansour, who played for Australia at the 2017 World Cup.

"It threw a bit of a curveball at the Kiwis. They wanted to play structured and we want to make things as disruptive as possible."

Moses, who last year played for NSW after Nathan Cleary was injured and went head-to-head with the new Australian halfback in last month's grand final loss to Penrith, said Cheika also instilled self-belief within the squad.

“I am learning a lot of Cheik and have really enjoyed my time with him," Moses said. "You always hear the stories about how he can get teams up for anything and I have seen it first hand now, with every single game and every single player.

"I can see what all of the hype is about. It is just how speaks to all of the boys and what he demands from us."

Roumanos said: "The way Cheik talks to us and the way he makes us believe in ourselves has been awesome. After the game against Jamaica he was talking to us and I was ready to go again. A lot of his stuff is just about believing in ourselves".