Michael Cheika and Eddie Jones go back a long way, right to their playing days when they used to pack down together in the suburbs of Sydney for Randwick. All these years later, they still act as if they have got each other’s backs.
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Earlier in the week, Jones was sticking up for Cheika. On Thursday, Cheika returned the favour. “Call me thick [no one did] but I can’t understand why Eddie’s been getting grief. How many games has he won here with England?” Cheika said. “I’m not sure what people are looking for, perfection? That’s never happening. You win some games, you lose some games. He’s definitely won more games than he’s lost, so I’d be wrapping him up and signing him up for another four years.”
The two of them have not always got on. “We’re not swinging hands down the road or anything,” Cheika said, “but we’re friends, we’ve got a lot of respect for each other. Sometimes you’re friends and sometimes you’ve got to become enemies and we will be enemies on Saturday.”
If it all sounds a little too friendly, he did allow himself a little dig at the way England “consistently target” Australia’s half-backs with late tackles because “they think they can get us rattled”. But then in his next breath he added: “They have had a few wins the last couple of years, so it is probably working for them. We have got to make sure we get on top of that.”
It means Beale has been doing a lot of talking this week. “Kurtley has shared a couple of stories,” Cheika said. “Every time we wear that jersey we want to learn more about our indigenous history, which is probably not taught to us at school as much as it should be. He told those stories with passion this week.”
Odd as it sounds, Cheika wants his team to channel the energy of the very player he has dropped. “If we can carry a quarter of his spirit then we’ll be in good stead.”
If they could just harness his talent, they would be in even better shape yet.
• This article was updated following the decision to withdraw David Pocock from Australia’s starting XV for the game against England