SARAH FERGUSON, PRESENTER: From the rag trade to rugby must be one of the most unusual combinations in professional sport.

The son of Lebanese migrants, Michael Cheika, worked for Australia's top dress designer, Collette Dinnigan, started a multimillion-dollar fashion business of his own and is now the victorious coach of Australia's top rugby team.

Just two years ago, the same team was being booed by its own fans. Now the New South Wales Waratahs are champions of the Super 15 competition after winning a nail-biting final against the top New Zealand team in the final moments of the game at the weekend. So how did he do it?

I spoke with Michael Cheika at the Sydney Football Stadium earlier today.

Michael Cheika, welcome to 7.30.

MICHAEL CHEIKA, WARATAHS COACH: Thank you.

SARAH FERGUSON: A few years ago, this was a team in a slump, being booed by its own fans. That's a long way from Saturday night. How did you pull that off?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Oh, it's pretty hard to sort of summarise it all in the space of a few minutes, but really went about just trying to earn each other's respects and a lot of that just through simple hard work initially and nothing like sweating together and bleeding together to build respect. And I think that's the simple things that start it.

SARAH FERGUSON: You've always said there were no free tickets for players in your teams. Was there any moment on Saturday when you thought, "Those buggers are going to take it from us"?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Look, I - they powered up in the second half, they used all their finals experience, and we wobbled a little bit, I think. But we were able to stay true to our identity and I think one of the big things beforehand we said is - if we're going to do this, we want to do it in our manner. We want our supporters to see us play our way. And I was really happy with the team that they stayed that way. We played - we kept passing the ball, we kept coming at the opposition in our attacking style and eventually it got us into field position there at the end and we were fortunate enough to get the penalty and then the man stepped up and kicked it. And I could see when they got the penalty, they did as well, because there was no hesitation in the decision-making and that comes from having belief in your teammates.

SARAH FERGUSON: People say that you're a hard man, but you're a - let's put it like this: people say you're a touch man, but you're also a very warm man. How much of that comes from your upbringing? I know that your father was a Lebanese migrant to Australia. He came from a tough part of Lebanon. Is that in you?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Oh, look, I hope so. I hope there's a bit of that, a bit of that in me. And he was very - like, from my own rugby career, he was very caring in the fact he was at every game or when we were young fellas he'd drive us all to the game. But then when you got home after a match, he was your biggest critic as well. He told you everything you did wrong or - and I often used to ask myself, "Hang on a second, mate, you never actually played the game, so you can't be too harsh on me." But. that's only because they love you, they want you to do well.

SARAH FERGUSON: Is that what you do? Are you tough with the players? The way you talk to them.

MICHAEL CHEIKA: I'm honest. Honest. Yeah. So honest in good ways when that's on and honest in difficult ways when that's on as well.

SARAH FERGUSON: We hear a lot these days about young, talented players in every code and particularly the ones that go off the rails. You've had some players in your team who've had a bad trot before - before now. How do you deal with those young blokes who are either showing signs or actually going off the tracks a bit?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: I think, um, just treat them equally to everybody else. And say - for me, respect is a quality that's given and it's yours to lose, you know what I mean? So, start off by meeting someone you don't know and you give them that respect straight away. I don't think they have to earn that. You give them respect and then it's theirs to lose.

SARAH FERGUSON: You've also got into trouble for your own temper a few times. Where does that come from?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Well you know us Mediterraneans; can't keep a lid on it, can we? No, I think one thing that's very important for me is that I know that, you know, in life there's - you've got a small period of time to enjoy yourself and be passionate about what you do and I don't think that any of us can seriously consider that being a rugby coach or a rugby player is a job. It's not work, it's a passion, it's something that you want to do, it's sport at the end of the day. There's a lot of people working a lot harder than us in jobs all around the country, you know what I mean? And I think that it's important for us to understand that. And for me, I certainly don't take it as a job, I take it as a passion and we're very lucky to be able to do it in the time we've done it.

SARAH FERGUSON: The other thing about you is probably one of the most unconventional backgrounds in international sport, really. I mean, how many other people combine high fashion with contact sport? What is it that drew you to fashion?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Um, I think I liked I suppose the - it's pretty diametrically opposed, the two sports - or the sport and the business.

SARAH FERGUSON: (Laughs)

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Fashion can be a sport sometimes, I suppose. But when I met Collette the first time, which was - with Collette Dinnigan, she was a very interesting person and someone that I thought I could really learn a lot from in business. And that turned out to be the case exactly. And I've been able to use a lot of the skills that I learned there in my rugby, funnily enough.

SARAH FERGUSON: So, I was going to ask you that. In what way? What's the crossover?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Yeah. Oh, definitely around people management and managing your - the people who work for you and with you to try to maximise their potential. It's something I've learnt more and more as I've gone on in coaching and business and coaching has been that people drive everything. And the best that you can get out of each person at their own level, the more you're going to get. The more they're going to enjoy it as well and hopefully you're going to get the right results at the end.

SARAH FERGUSON: Which is the tougher business?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Well, you know, different balance sheets at the end of the day, different considerations for success. I suppose, here, you're able to hold up a trophy and almost clean away all the other bits. In there, you're able to produce a beautiful garment, but if the books aren't balanced at the end, it's always a bit edgy too. So, look, I've enjoyed both spheres for sure, but obviously rugby's my passion and something I love playing and love being involved in as a coach as well.

SARAH FERGUSON: It was a spectacle, the game on Saturday, but there's a lot of people who watch rugby and they say the penalties, all of that stuff, the stopping, "I don't get it." What do you say to people who look at that and just can't find a spectator sport there?

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Look, I understand if you haven't grown up with it, it can be a little bit difficult to understand, but one of the key areas about rugby, which is important for anyone who's watching it that isn't used to it, is it's all about a contest. So, the scrum is a contest, the lineout's a contest. Every tackle's a contest. So the ball's in contest every time that someone's tackled. The other people can actually go in there and get it if they're good enough. To see a guy like Israel Folau soaring up into the air contested against a guy like Israel Dagg from the Crusaders, for example, contesting the same ball, it's brilliant to watch. And so, that's the real thing about rugby: it's a contest. I think that's what drew me to it because everything is contested, and I'd like to think I'm a competitor, so I'd like to contest every ball.

SARAH FERGUSON: Well congratulations on winning the big contest. Michael Cheika, thank you very much for joining us.

MICHAEL CHEIKA: Thanks so much. Thanks for having me.