Michael Cheika insists Wallabies stay focused as Scots sure to pose big threat to Grand Slam plans

MICHAEL Cheika has rubbished the notion that Scotland will be the easier of the remaining three teams standing in the way of Australia’s first Grand Slam since 1984.

Michael Cheika will be hoping Israel Folau gets among the tries at Murrayfield.

MICHAEL Cheika has rubbished the notion that Scotland will be the easier of the remaining three teams standing in the way of Australia’s first Grand Slam since 1984, saying his side are “nobody” after a disappointing year.

While the Wallabies trounced Wales 32-8 last weekend to start their spring tour, and Scotland are the lowest ranked side they’ll play, Cheika refused to accept the Scots will be an easier proposition than Ireland and England, who beat his side 3-0 in the June series.

“Who are we? We’re nobody. Why have we got a higher status? We’ve got nothing,” the Wallabies coach said ahead of Sunday morning’s (EDT) clash at Murrayfield.

Michael Cheika will be hoping Israel Folau gets among the tries at Murrayfield.

“Right now, both teams are equal and the only thing that separates them is what happens on match day.

“No one is looking at (rankings), the only thing we’re looking at is (Sunday).

Genia returns for Scotland clash

“All that other stuff is around ego, and we’ve got no reason to have an ego, we’ve been getting battered around a little bit this year. We’ve got a year of 15 Tests against the top eight nations and they’re all going to give us something.

“We’ve had a big change of personnel, 12 debutants. In the match squad here there’s going to be eight or nine players in single digit Test numbers.

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“We’re thinking in an entirely different manner.

“That is important to us because that’s the attitude I want our younger players to be learning.

“Like every opponent on this tour, they’ll pose the maximum threat because they’re the team in front of us.”

Asked if there was a danger his players were already thinking ahead to Ireland — who ended the All Blacks’ record run of wins last weekend — and England, Cheika replied: “I don’t think so, we’ve got France before then too.

The Wallabies only have to look back to 2009 to know how dangerous Scotland can be.

“We haven’t spoken about any of the other games on tour, because what’s the point? There’s no point even preparing for those games.

“We are just going a day at a time, I don’t want to use it as a cliché, I just want to live that ethos — just go a day at a time.

“I don’t see any challenge bigger than the other over here.

“I’ve been over here and experienced coaching in the northern hemisphere and I feel like I know what everyone can bring on the day and we know that everyone is difficult.”

Cheika only has to look back to his first assignment as Wallabies coach, the spring tour two years ago, to be reminded of how quickly things can turn sour when his side started with a win against Wales but then lost to France, Ireland and England in successive weeks.

“When we came here in 2014, in my first experience of coaching, we had a win in Wales and then got turned up the next week, you went from feeling fantastic to feeling rubbish,” Cheika said.

“So we know we’ve got re-set our clock, we knew that from the start.

“When we got here we had a discussion about it, and I feel the way the guys have trained we’ve done that.

“No one has been talking about the (Wales) game, sometimes you feel that or you talk about the game or you see guys still watching the game on video.

“That got left behind after our reviews, no one is talking about it.

“Everyone understands that with such a big tour ahead of us, every day counts, and what we do each day will make us better prepared for the challenge ahead.”

SCOTLAND v AUSTRALIA

Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Sunday 1.30am (EDT)

TV: Live on Foxtel’s BeIn Sports

SCOTLAND: 15. Stuart Hogg 14. Sean Maitland 13. Huw Jones 12. Alex Dunbar 11. Tim Visser 10. Finn Russell 9. Greig Laidlaw (captain) 8. Ryan Wilson 7. Hamish Watson 6. John Barclay 5. Jonny Gray 4. Richie Gray 3. Zander Fagerson 2. Ross Ford 1.Allan Dell.

Reserves: 16. Fraser Brown 17. Gordon Reid 18. Moray Low 19. Grant Gilchrist 20. John Hardie 21. Ali Price 22. Pete Horne 23. Rory Hughes.

AUSTRALIA: 15. Israel Folau 14. Dane Haylett-Petty 13. Tevita Kuridrani 12. Reece Hodge 11. Henry Speight 10. Bernard Foley 9. Will Genia 8. Lopeti Timani 7. Michael Hooper 6. David Pocock 5. Adam Coleman 4. Rory Arnold 3. Sekope Kepu 2. Stephen Moore (captain) 1. Scott Sio.

Reserves: 16. Tolu Latu 17. Tom Robertson 18. Allan Alaalatoa 19. Rob Simmons 20. Will Skelton 21. Dean Mumm 22. Nick Phipps 23. Quade Cooper.