Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says he got mental preparation wrong

MICHAEL Cheika has admitted bungling the Wallabies’ mental preparation after his side suffered their worst defeat to NZ on home soil in more than a century.

Coach Michael Cheika admits he didn’t have the Wallabies mentally ready to take on the All Blacks.

WALLABIES coach Michael Cheika has admitted bungling the team’s mental preparation after his side suffered their worst defeat to New Zealand on home soil in more than a century.

The 42-8 loss to the All Blacks puts them 1-0 down in the three-Test Bledisloe Cup series and with a return match in Wellington next Saturday, Cheika has a mountain to climb this week.

“I don’t think it’s about changing everything, it’s about getting the focus clearly on what’s important,” Cheika said.

Australia’s defence had no answer to the mighty All Blacks.

“I take responsibility for that, the mental preparation, that’s my domain and I’ve got to make sure the players are switched on to what is in focus.

“And that’s why you would see me being very down, because I feel like I’ve let them down because I haven’t put them into a space where they’re going to do whatever it takes, especially around defence.

“It’s all connected, so I will have a good look at how I’ve prepared that over the last few weeks and try to add or refine and put some focus on what I need to make sure that the point is very clear for next weekend.”

Cheika was most disappointed with his side’s poor defence, which missed 31 tackles - a reflection of the lack of mental toughness in the team.

“You’ll have a chance to build on that in seven days, that’s what they’ll have a chance to do, there’ll be no bigger Test for mental fortitude than that,” Cheika said.

“Defence is attitude. There’s no rustiness. Let’s get that one out of the way, right.

“When players run at you, you’ve got to tackle and that’s the nature of the game.

“So when other things don’t work out, that will look after you.”

Originally published as Bledisloe Cup: Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says he got mental preparation wrong