Are the Wallabies scared of coach Michael Cheika? Of course not, they're one big happy family.

That's if you believe returned lock Kane Douglas and not his Irish counterpart Johnny Sexton who earlier this week said Cheika was a good coach because his players are "scared s---less" of him.

Sexton's claims would appear to have some merit considering Cheika's incident-marred stint at the Waratahs, the coach's often volatile temper seeing him shatter a window at Canberra Stadium before picking up a suspended ban for abusing a cameraman.

Then there's the fact not one Australian player has put a foot wrong off the field during his tenure in contrast to previous years. The players have been careful not to say the wrong thing during media conferences with the headline-hunting local journalists finding the Wallabies a tougher nut to crack than a Poirot murder mystery.

Scared? Maybe not. But it was hard to miss the degree of caution in which Douglas gave a measured response to Sexton's comments.

Michael Cheika© Dan Mullan/Getty Images

"I did hear a bit of that when I was over in Ireland," the former Leinster lock told ESPN.

"But I think Cheik's really honest and tells you how it is, and I really like that as a coach. He keeps you guessing as well; you don't know what you've got at training and you know it's going to be pretty hard each session.

"I haven't read what Sexton said but yeah, that's pretty funny."

Cheika has managed to right what was a sinking Wallabies ship in under a year. The former Waratahs boss stepped into the role following the ugly text-messaging scandal involving Kurtley Beale and former team staffer Di Patston -- a conflict that eventually saw then-coach Ewen McKenzie resign.

One of Cheika's first moves was to bring Beale in from the cold midway through last year's November internationals; it was a decision that drew plenty of criticism back home but one that showed his desire to restore the trust within the Wallabies group.

His decision to bring players back from overseas has also proved a masterstroke, with Douglas joining fellow returned Wallabies Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell in talking up the Cheika effect.

"I like the way in which Cheik does things, when we fly into everything at training," Douglas said of the culture Cheika had fostered. "I've always like the environment no matter who's been the coach, it's always been pretty good.

"But there is a good feeling about [the Wallabies camp]. I think it's more of a family vibe about it and everyone's buying in and wants to do well for each other and their families. From that point of view, I think it's pretty good."

Whether living in fear or feeling the family love, Douglas seems to have settled back into green and gold after he was named in the starting side for the Pool A decider with Wales.

"It's been pretty good -- I probably had to learn a few new calls and things like that when I first came back," he said. "Coming off injury I was a couple of kilos overweight and needing to get the fitness back. But I think I've got all that back and it's just good to be around all these guys.

"Moving back to Australia wasn't just for this -- it was more of a family thing and getting back to Australia. But you do miss it. I think being in the Leinster environment you see all those boys going off and playing for Ireland, so you do miss it. I'm very happy to be back."