Jones remain 'respectful', Cheika to end 'clowning'
This week has seen Jones, the Wallabies' coach when they lost the 2003 World Cup Final to England in Sydney, again insist that both he and his current side were treated with a lack of respect during a 3-0 series win in Australia earlier this year.
But Cheika, whom All Blacks coach Steve Hansen accused of being "bullied" in the media by Jones in June, said Thursday the England boss had a chip on his shoulder.
"It doesn't worry me at all," said Jones, who played alongside Cheika at Sydney club Randwick.
"Everyone makes a choice in life about what they say and how they behave. If that is how he wants to behave that's entirely up to him.
"Rugby is a respectful game and we represent all the kids playing rugby, supporters and we want to behave in a respectful way."
Both coaches have questioned the legality of the other side's scrum this week, with Jones lighting the fuse immediately after England's 27-14 win over Argentina at Twickenham last weekend.
Australia come into Saturday's game on the back of a 27-24 loss to Ireland in Dublin last weekend and Jones said: "Defeat always hurts and there will be someone hurting tomorrow."
An England success on Saturday would see them equal their best winning streak of 14 successive Test victories, 13 of which would have come under Jones.
By contrast Australia, beaten in last year's World Cup final by New Zealand, are seeking just a seventh win from 15 internationals in 2016.
"It's their last chance of redemption because they've had a tough year and if they win this Test, they can go home happy," said Jones of the Wallabies.
"If we win this Test then we create history, so we're aiming to create history," added Jones.
Cheika, speaking Thursday, said of Jones: "He's a good Australian coach who took Australia, in a World Cup that we didn't expect to go fantastic in, to the final.
"He's respected for that by me as a former teammate of his, I think you saw when he was in Australia that he got a lot of respect.
"I think that whole thing is a play on. He's always operated with a chip on his shoulder and now that's there's not a chip because he's going really well, he's got to keep looking for it."
The hype intensified when Jones was depicted as a clown in Saturday's edition of The Australian newspaper.
That followed a cartoon showing Cheika as an angry clown that appeared in The New Zealand Herald newspaper in October under the banner "Send in the Clowns".
But The Australian said: "Forget Michael Cheika. Eddie Jones is the real clown of the world rugby circus.
"Jones is a master of using black comedy to belittle his adversaries and no one has been the victim of his invective more than Cheika, who in turn has looked bemused and besieged."
But Cheika, speaking Friday, tried to lower the temperature by saying: "The fun is over now. Kick-off is 24 hours away and the players take over now.
"The players are in charge and the team that plays best on the day will win."
Agence France-Presse
