Perese takes winding road to reunion with Cheika

Izaia Perese restarted his career with the Waratahs in Australia before joining Leicester Tigers

Izaia Perese greeted a familiar face when Michael Cheika first arrived at Leicester Tigers.

The 27-year-old outside centre was signed in March by Dan McKellar but he was sacked as head coach and replaced with Cheika, the former Australia coach, in June.

It brought an unexpected reunion, eight years after the pair first met when Cheika coached the Wallabies.

"He picked me up as a young fella as an apprentice and took me on a spring tour tour in 2016," Perese told BBC Radio Leicester's Leicester Tigers Rugby Show.

"I didn’t play but it was still such a great time.

"We saw each other for the first time at Tigers and said, ‘What are the odds?’ Then we had a good catch up after that."

The road to that reunion has been a winding one for Perese.

Having begun his career with Queensland Reds, he left in 2019 to switch codes and join Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. But he played only twice before his contract was terminated after he was charged with drugs offences.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to an 18-month supervision order and 100 hours of community service by a Brisbane court.

Perese returned to union but struggled in a short stint at Bayonne in France before the Sydney-based Waratahs brought him back to Australia and revived his career.

He was given a Wallabies debut by Dave Rennie in 2021 before being named in Eddie Jones' squad for the 2023 World Cup.

Michael Cheika was appointed Leicester Tigers head coach in June

He and Cheika will now hope to revive Leicester, having finished 8th last season, two years after the Tigers became champions for the 11th time.

"He comes in and there’s an aura about him. His credentials speak for themselves," said Perese.

"We’ve got unlimited expectations here and we want to grow on what this club stands on.

"It’s exciting because he has the bar so high for what we want to represent as a footy team and he’s so good at bringing a group together."

Having swapped New South Wales for the East Midlands, Perese hopes he can add some punch to the Leicester midfield.

His 5ft 8in and 14st 7lb frame should be seen in the Premiership for the first time on 21 September at Exeter Chiefs, when their new season begins.

"The biggest thing is the physicality I’ll bring," Perese said.

"I’m only a little body but that probably makes me want to be a bit more physical and surprise people a little bit."