Michael Cheika reveals the heartfelt spray that turned around the Wallabies fortunes
WITH the Wallabies trailing Argentina by 24 points after one of the worst first halves of rugby an Australian team has produced in years, Michael Cheika knew there was no time for mincing his words.
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WITH the Wallabies trailing Argentina by 24 points after one of the worst first halves of rugby an Australian team has produced in years, Michael Cheika knew there was no time for mincing his words.
With his own job on the line if Australia lost, Cheika unleashed his full fury on his players during the interval by questioning their heart and commitment to the Wallaby cause.
Poking players in their chests, he reminded them what the national emblem on the gold jersey represented and why they owed it to all Australian rugby followers to put their bodies on the line and give it everything they had.
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“I just wanted to say what I felt, that’s all. I didn’t go down there with a plan of doing that or anything like that,” Cheika said.
“I just wanted to say what I felt, because the game is personal. I wanted to just let them know how I felt.”
What happened next will go down as one the greatest comebacks in Test rugby history. After their woeful first half, the Wallabies came out a different team, running in five unanswered tries as the Pumas imploded.
After just 24 minutes of the second half, Australia were in front for the first time. Then they scored again in the 66th minute and suddenly the losing streak was all over and the criticism that was spouting out on social media quietened down.
The win not only ensured the Wallabies avoided the wooden spoon in the rugby championship and will remain seventh in the world rankings but will provide some temporary respite to Cheika and his team, who have been struggling to convince everyone they should keep their jobs.
Cheika maintains that everything the team is going through now will pay off in the long run but there’s been little evidence to back that up and when they were 31-7 behind at halftime, the knives were being sharpened.
“I don’t know who’s saying that stuff about changing people. Like I’ve said many times, these are tough times. They come and go and you’ve got to be a tough person to get through it,” Cheika said.
“We’ve got stuff we’ve got to improve, everyone does — coaches, staff, players, everyone. That’s what we’re here to do, is to get better and go forward and get to the goal that we share together as a team, and that’s to lift the World Cup.”
When things clicked in the second half, the Wallabies really did look capable of anything.
The pack was going forward and making strong gains and the backs started to show what everyone knows they are capable off with Bernard Foley calling the shots and Israel Folau and Dane Haylett-Petty cashing in with three tries between them.
“We’ve got full confidence in Cheik,” Haylett-Petty said.
“We know we’re edging in the right direction but it’s just a bit too inconsistent at the moment and it’s up to the players, we need to respond better and we did that in the second half.”
As good as the turnaround was, Cheika certainly wasn’t getting carried away. He may be a true believer but he’s also a realist and what he saw in the first half worried him.
The #Wallabies 24 point comeback is the biggest in #RugbyChampionship history.
— Fox Sports Lab (@FoxSportsLab) October 7, 2018
- Previous was 18 by South Africa in 1998 against New Zealand. #ARGvAUS
I have no idea what the Wallabies defensive system is.
— Iain Payten (@iainpayten) October 6, 2018
Wallabies fans right now..#ARGvAUS pic.twitter.com/o7GJS5ZqYC
— Steve Lenthall (@steve_l15) October 6, 2018
“A few things didn’t go for us but we didn’t help ourselves at all with our approach to the game, especially defensively. You’ve got to get up and put your body there and make it happen,” Cheika said.
“I’m not going to pretend I know why because I don’t think the players even know why, I’m being honest, you don’t know why. But what’s obvious is you cannot let that happen, cannot be in that situation.
“I was obviously very unhappy with the first half and then very happy with the second half but happy doesn’t really make a difference at the end of the day does it.”
Originally published as Michael Cheika reveals the heartfelt spray that turned around the Wallabies fortunes
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