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Wallabies coach Michael Cheika appears certain to stick with Michael Hooper at No. 7 for the June series against England after mounting a spirited defence of the Waratahs skipper on Wednesday.

Hooper recently came under fire from former Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer, the Rugby World Cup winner declaring the Australia vice-captain was now the No. 5 openside in the country and had gone from being an absolutely outstanding player to a "total non-event".

Numbers provided to ESPN by Opta Stats painted an interesting picture, with Hooper featuring mid-table across many key categories from the first eight rounds of Super Rugby; but when analysing those same figures against his efforts from 2015, there was a noticeable decline in Hooper's average runs, and average run metres -- arguably his biggest strengths.

Speaking at an Australian Rugby Union function on Wednesday morning, Cheika echoed the thoughts of his Wallabies captain, Stephen Moore, in taking aim at Hooper's detractors.

"Well he played the last game there didn't he, so I s'pose he's in the box seat at the moment," Cheika said when asked whether Hooper was still his first choice at No. 7.

"I s'pose it's a little bit disappointing for me to hear how -- more the language that's being used as opposed to the idea - because ... a guy like Hooper, he definitely doesn't merit that type of attention.

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"He's doing his job for the Waratahs very, very well; he's taken on a leadership role as well this year within an organisation that has changed a lot, a lot of new personnel, etc.

"I don't need to go on the record about what I think about Michael Hooper; I think it will be seen through my selections."

Cheika has five more rounds of Super Rugby to analyse before he names a squad for the three-Test series against England in June.

He confirmed he was likely to rest the Wallabies' foreign legion -- a list that includes players like Matt Giteau, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Drew Mitchell -- due to their heavy workload, but he did reveal that all those he spoke to on his recent trip north "are keen to continue playing for Australia".

One player who will be on deck in June is Israel Folau; it just remains a mystery as to where.

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"I think he's done well, it's not an easy position to master in particular in defence," Cheika said of Folau's two games at outside centre for the Waratahs.

"There's no doubt that with ball in his hand it would be just a natural thing for him to take on the defence.

"Defensively, I think he's got his head around it pretty well to be honest and I'd say he'd be finding a different level of fitness required, too; probably to play in that position because you're on the go the whole time and that's a really good development for him I think ... it's something that will help him in his football.

"Whether he plays 13 going forward or whether he goes back to full-back ... I've got some ideas in my head but it would be stupid to shut off any ideas now; just let it roll out and see how we're feeling when we get to the last week of May when we get together and pick a team from there."