Rugby Championship
Cheika wants Wallabies to 'feel heat' in Bledisloe
Sam Bruce
July 31, 2015
Wallabies need to feel the heat: Cheika

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is free of Australia's Bledisloe burden but wants his players to "feel the heat" of the contest and rise to the All Blacks' challenge as they prepare for bigger encounters later in the year.

That of course refers to the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in mid-September, when the Wallabies will have to overcome one of the toughest pools in the tournament's history just to reach the quarter-finals. But the focus, for now, is very much the opening Bledisloe clash - Cheika's first - in Sydney, where a crowd of around 70,000 will be keen to see just where the Wallabies are at.

There will be no outrageous experimentation at the selection table or the playing of some extra special cards - as All Blacks coach Steve Hansen lamented after New Zealand's match-winning lineout move in Johannesburg. No, the Wallabies coach instead wants his players to embrace the occasion as he looks to uncover the depth of character this team has burning within.

Michael Cheika and Stephen Moore © Getty Images
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"I think we want to use the games to get, not as much to experiment, but to feel the heat," Cheika told Greg Growden in a fascinating one-on-one interview for ESPN.

 
"We've been training hard, we've been training under a lot of pressure as well, putting guys under mental pressure and getting them used to it"
 

"[I want the Wallabies] to get used to being in that hot environment and enjoying that; doing it where the hotter it gets, the more we're enjoying it and don't worry about the outcome; just get in there and play against the best team in the world, compete, and when you're competing, don't be surprised; get used to being uncomfortable in that zone, and that's what we want to do.

"I don't think experimenting is the right thing to be doing with Bledisloe matches; they're so important and everyone … is looking for a good outcome. So, yeah, we might make some changes here or there but I don't consider that experimenting, I think that's giving guys opportunities to play in the big games and letting them feel that intensity because it's only going to amplify as we go further on into the year."

The opening Bledisloe clash a week on Saturday also serves as the defining match of the Rugby Championship with the Wallabies and All Blacks both undefeated following wins over Argentina and South Africa. The Wallabies first accounted for the Springboks in dramatic fashion in Brisbane and then handled the marathon journey to Mendoza to down the Pumas, collecting the all-important bonus-point try in the shadows of full-time. Those two wins have no doubt instilled some confidence in the Wallabies squad, yet the lack of success in the annual trans-Tasman contest - the Wallabies last touched the Bledisloe in 2002, and they haven't beaten the All Blacks since 2011 - has helped to foster the perception the Wallabies are already behind before they even take to the field.

Australia gained confidence in Argentina © Getty Images
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Cheika acknowledged that belief but said his job, more than preparing the team on the training paddock, was about helping the squad to conquer those mental demons and build the belief they were good enough to beat the world champions.

"I'm not concerned by it, but I can understand how that perception would be there," Cheika told ESPN. "It's my job as the coach to give them that belief. I think the coach can play a big role in that; I don't know if I've given them much else to be honest, you know what I mean? I don't know what else I've got in my arsenal. But I know that I believe in the lads, and the way they play the game and the individual ability of players and how they're combining together, the relationships they're building and how we've been doing that all year during Super Rugby.

"I'm not saying that's enough just to win the game on its own, but it's all the little bits together; we've been training hard, we've been training under a lot of pressure as well, putting guys under mental pressure and getting them used to it. The only way we're going to achieve those results is to go places that we haven't gone before, so we've got to do that every day at training."

Australia impressed with their spirit against South Africa © Getty Images
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There were signs of that growing mental strength in Brisbane a fortnight ago, when skipper Stephen Moore spurned a guaranteed three points and a draw, instead rolling the dice and pushing for the win; it was a feat they achieved in the 82nd minute, when Tevita Kuridrani found just enough grass to score the match-winning try.

Cheika was rapt "just the way they made decisions at the end of that game".

"I wouldn't say we played brilliantly in that game either, you know," Cheika told ESPN. "I wouldn't want people to misjudge what I'm saying, but just the way they made the decisions; they took the kick for goal at the right time, when there was still a chance to come back and win … I thought they probably should have taken the kick at goal the second time.

"But in hindsight … they definitely made the right decision on the field, not only from the results point of view but even from an attitudinal point of view. We're not here not to lose; we want to be here to try and win. And that attitude, if you live it every day, will seep through in the way you play."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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