The Wallabies made a winning start under Michael Cheika © Getty Images

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Matches: Wales 28 - 33 Australia

Michael Cheika says Australia will endure more pain before their new style and structure begins to bear fruit.

Ahead of his first Test in charge of the Wallabies, Cheika also admitted he doesn't expect the learning process to come at the expense of results against Wales, France, Ireland and England in the coming weeks.

"If I can get the team understanding its identity and the way we want to play, I see the results coming as a consequence of that," Cheika said after the squad departed London for Cardiff.

Australia put in a patchy performance to record a tour-opening 40-36 win over the Barbarians at Twickenham in Cheika's first game as head coach.

After little more than a week in the role, Cheika said the display at Twickenham reflected a team in transition as he looks to make the Wallabies more consistent.

"We have to be clear that we're going to change things and there's going to be some pain, guaranteed," said Cheika. "That's just the way it is. But we feel that changes we're making will give the team consistency at a good level, and I think that's what it's lacked a little bit in the past."

Cheika wants the Wallabies to play a high-pressure defensive game and improve their transitional defence. In attack, he wants to play a power game with his big forwards laying the foundation up the middle.

He also feels the team will adapt only through hard work and has no plans to ease his brutal training regime that had the players feeling the pinch during the first week of camp.

"You could say [the hard week at training] took a bit of a toll in the end," Cheika said of the Barbarians game. "But it's about getting used to it. These guys are fit enough. We can get them fitter throughout this tour, but I think a lot of it is more about triggering that mental part in them by doing it every day at training."

Michael Cheika is putting the Wallabies through a fierce training regime © Getty Images

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Australia next play the first Test of their tour at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, looking to extend their winning streak against Wales to a remarkable 10 games and to bolster their psychological advantage for the meeting in the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup in 12 months' time.

But there were no attempts at mind games on Monday, in direct contradiction to Australia's 30-26 victory in Cardiff a year ago.

Will Genia then claimed Australia's dominance was clearly weighing on Wales' mind, and said the Wallabies had been motivated by pre-match tough talk from Richard Hibbard, while Wales coach Warren Gatland claimed that November Tests against Australia had been treated more like "friendlies".

This time around, Rob Simmons said the Wallabies would be a mistaken if they focused on a slanging match instead of developing the new culture under Cheika to win back the trust of the Australian public.

"Winning the last nine games definitely helps with our confidence," Simmons said. "But we know every time we beat them, the next time we come up against us they're going to want to beat us even more. It's almost making it harder for ourselves [to talk about it], so we just need to be on our game 100%."

Prop Sekope Kepu agreed there was little to gain from talking up the winning streak.

"Yeah, it can be an edge leading into a World Cup but I've been blessed to play in a World Cup and it's a whole different ball game," Kepu said. "You can talk about things but you've got to let your actions speak, and Cheik's all about actions."

Wales seem intent on a similar low-key approach this year. Hibbard, who predicted Wales would "batter" the Wallabies 12 months ago, bit his tongue when asked if there would be a similar feeling this time. "I think I fell into a trap last year," Hibbard said. "It's just business as usual for us."

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Sean McMahon impressed against the Barbarians at Twickenham © Getty Images

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The Wallabies, meanwhile, are aiming to win back fans turned off by recent controversies including the Kurtley Beale text messaging saga. But Kepu says they will do so only with actions on the field. "If we can play the good, hard style of footy Cheika wants us to play, we'll get the respect and trust and all those things, whether it's from the public, the opposition or everybody else," Kepu said.

Cheika said the Barbarians match had caused some selection headaches for the Wales Test. He plans to keep faith with the bulk of the side that lost to the All Blacks by just one point in Ewen McKenzie's last game in charge last month, but he is considering several changes.

Rookie back-rower Sean McMahon and veteran Matt Hodgson certainly boosted their prospects against the Barbarians, and Cheika indicated that former captain James Horwill could start role in the second row as the coach also considers how to accommodate Will Skelton and incumbents Sam Carter and Rob Simmons. "I think that [Horwill] best understood the new system of the forward pack," Cheika said.

Cheika also nominated winger Rob Horne and returning half-back Will Genia as players who had possibly put their hand up for recalls.

Australia have also been boosted by news that Scott Higginbotham will remain on tour after being cleared of a serious hamstring injury, even though he is expected to miss the Wales Test. Higginbotham sustained the injury in the win over the Barbarians.