Michael Cheika's Australia beat the Barbarians 40-36 © Getty Images

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Match Pack: Cheika era begins with free-scoring win

Australia coach Michael Cheika is taking inspiration from Stuart Lancaster's start with England as he bids to solve the Wallabies' off-field problems.

Cheika's side return to Twickenham at the end of the month following their 40-36 win against the Barbarians last weekend, with their autumn Test tour also taking in trips to Wales, France and Ireland.

Despite only being appointed by Australia last month, Cheika has already had to deal with the fallout from the Kurtley Beale text messaging scandal, opting to leave him out of the initial touring squad though the door has been left open to a possible call-up later this month.

Lancaster had similar team culture issues to address when taking over England in the aftermath of their infamous 2011 World Cup campaign - and Cheika is hoping to follow his example.

"What I know is that he was a surprise selection when he was picked," Cheika said of Lancaster. "They backed him really well, he prepared well and he has slowly but surely improved their strength.

"They have gone up in the rankings and he has built the team up really nicely. He has got a good respect now amongst the rugby public."

Cheika added: "It is about being proud of the team and we can do that by showing our commitment on the field as best we can. It won't always be perfect but we want our effort to be perfect every time we go out there."

Australia take on Wales in Cardiff next on Saturday, having beaten them in their past nine meetings, but mostly by fine margins.

"It's going to be a tough game," Cheika said. "I haven't seen a lot of them recently - I've been focusing predominantly on our team but I'll have a look at some vision over the next couple of days.

"I think Warren Gatland and that set of coaches have done a really good job in building a team that has a lot of attacking firepower when required and play a bit tighter when necessary. And they like the battle. They like the tough stuff.

"We need to get more used to what we're doing and just turn up our dial a little bit harder so that the hits are a bit harder and the game is a bit more physical as a Test match would normally be, I would imagine."