Michael Cheika hopes Test win over Springboks relieves Wallabies anxiety after rough run of results

MICHAEL Cheika is hoping the drought-breaking Test win over the Springboks sheds his team’s anxiety and the Wallabies can click into their best rugby of the year.

Quade Cooper impressed Michael Cheika with his game management.

THE anxiety of losing had to be hacked off like a ball and chain for the Wallabies to confront Argentina with free minds and their best Test rugby of the season.

Wallabies boss Michael Cheika is quietly confident that switch has been clicked by the mood-lifting vibe around the 23-17 breakthrough against South Africa last Saturday night.

It’s imperative because Los Pumas, for the first time, will be an even bigger danger in Perth on Saturday night than the rebuilding Springboks.

Be very wary. The potent mix of offloading, set-piece steel, proven combinations and new scorepower from the Pumas backs challenged the All Blacks for an hour last Saturday.

The 80 minutes at Suncorp Stadium meant a lot for the Wallabies with more coherent game-management from standout halfback Will Genia, Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley.

So did the unseen scenes afterwards.

Quade Cooper impressed Michael Cheika with his game management

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

GENIA AND COOPER SHOW THE WAY

WALLABIES PLAYER RATINGS

Few would realise but there were six rookies who’d never sung a raucous anthem in a winning circle in the dressing room because of the buffeting from five Test losses this season.

Samu Kerevi, impressive Reece Hodge, Dane Haylett-Petty, limping Allan Alaalatoa, Rory Arnold and Adam Coleman were ushered into the centre of the circle along with new skills coach Mick Byrne.

“We’ve had a group of guys debut this year who’d not seen a win so to experience a winning change room was really rewarding,” vice-captain Michael Hooper said.

“That’s their taste of wanting more and how different it is and what it means to the whole group.”

The rash of kicking late in the game against the Springboks, when a few counter-attacks were ignored, had the strong whiff of “please, blow full-time on a win...at last.”

“Losing some of that anxiety ‘Oh, just gotta win’ is important because I want us to feel the extra freedom to play better in attack in particular,” Cheika said.

“Now, we can start upping our play to win again.

“They (the Pumas) will test us in Perth with the offloads and the inside balls so we have to.”

Winning was a great circuit-breaker but there are still plenty of things to work on.

Schoolboys in the Brisbane State High GPS premiership team would have carried the ball in the left arm rather than have a try ruined when centre Samu Kerevi was tackled in the corner.

Cheika didn’t let him off the hook: “He just had the ball under the wrong arm..in the other, he would have fended the guy off and scored.”

Unfortunately, prop Alaalatoa, after another strong 30-minute cameo, limped home to Sydney yesterday with strained knee ligaments and a likely three-week spell.

Young NSW prop Tom Robertson and Melbourne’s Toby Smith will join the squad in Perth while Alaalatoa fights to make the Pretoria-London legs of the campaign next month.

Cheika learnt one very important thing during his side’s five losses that can now work for a winning side.

“We’ve been getting a fair bit of heat and I learned we are rock solid as a group,’ Cheika said.

Reece Hodge impressed Michael Cheika.

Originally published as Michael Cheika hopes Test win over Springboks relieves Wallabies anxiety after rough run of results