Cheika plays down title win
Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika played down his team's 27-19 victory against New Zealand on Saturday on Saturday, which also won them the 2015 Rugby Championship.
Only nine months into his reign, Cheika had achieved what no other Wallabies coach had managed in the last four years by beating New Zealand.
With another match against the world champions in Auckland next week and a possible meeting in this year's World Cup, Cheika did not want his players to get over confident with their win in Sydney.
"I don't want to be a sad sack, but you take a moment to congratulate your players and then you start thinking about the next game and what you have to do to be ready," he told Reuters.
"The reality is that we've only won one game against New Zealand in a long time and me more than anyone knows that stands for only a little bit.
"Consistency is key and we have to go out there and prepare each day to be competitive again with the number one team in the world on their own patch. That's our target."
Captain Stephen Moore also played down the win saying his team still has another tie against the World Champions.
"We trained hard during the week and there was some good stuff out there, but we're going to need another big week," said the hooker.
"It was better than last week, so we just need to keep building on that."
The combination of openside flanks Michael and David Pocock pleased Cheika, who also lauded the impact of his bench in the second half.
Matt Toomua and Nic White almost single-handedly changed their team’s fortunes in the second half.
"We have spoken about our finishers and the job they have to do and Nic White was given more time tonight based on the way he has performed in his training," said Cheika.
"He was asked to take a goal kick from long range and he provided good distribution and good service and he also scored a good try.
"That's what I want. I want guys to be putting their hands up and saying, 'I want to be part of this. That will help the competition for places in the squad."
Source: Reuters
