Australia
New Zealand have so much depth they will only improve as well -- Michael Cheika
AAP
November 4, 2015
Cheika hopes to keep core group together
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The Wallabies were greeted with applause and cheers by enthusiastic fans as they returned home from the Rugby World Cup on Wednesday.

Australia won plenty of praise and admiration for the way in which they progressed from the 'Pool of Death' featuring England and Wales before falling short against the champion All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final, but Wallabies coach Michael Cheika's said that his team must improve to reach the summit of world rugby rather than hope for New Zealand standards to drop as the All Blacks lose a raft of high-profile players.

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"Our goal is to improve, not to be waiting for other teams to go worse because of this or that reason," Cheika said on arrival at Sydney Airport. "I don't think [New Zealand] will [get worse]. They've got so much depth over there. I think they will only improve as well."

Cheika said that England in their three-Test home series in 2016 would be his next objective, rather than looking to break the 13-year Bledisloe Cup drought against New Zealand, but he was non-committal when asked if he would look to complete a full four-year term after having been named World Rugby Coach of the Year after just 12 months in the job.

"I'm in to 2017 and for me it's irrelevant whether I'm on to 2019 or 2017, or 2016," Cheika said. "I want to do the best so the team is in the right position to keep getting better in the future."

Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver said that Cheika had done a remarkable job in charge of the Wallabies but there was no urgency to extend his contract given he was already locked in for two more years.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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