The past two weeks have cast Michael Cheika back into a role he suits well: the transformer – the coach who went into Leinster and the Waratahs and turned them into winners.
It is somewhat odd that the Wallabies are a “turnaround” project for Cheika given that they have been his team since late 2014, but nothing is normal in Australian rugby at the moment and there are some facts to back the narrative.
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This is essentially a new Wallabies team. The captain is new, the squad is more green than gold, the attack and defence coach are now fully committed after juggling other roles, Mick Byrne’s feet are now properly under the desk and Rod Kafer is inside the tent.
There are a lot of changes happening in Australian rugby that are addressing long-term flaws and Cheika seems renewed by it. The coach we have seen during the past month is that hard-working immigrants’ son who rolls up his sleeves and walks towards a challenge.
Stunning turnaround: Michael Cheika looks on after the shattering loss to New Zealand. Photo: AAP
In one sense, the amount of “value add” Cheika supplied to the Wallabies during the Bledisloe Cup fortnight outstripped what Steve Hansen gave to the All Blacks.
New Zealand teams were 26-0 against Australian sides in Super Rugby this year and yet within the space of two weeks Cheika had the Wallabies within a late try of beating the All Blacks.
That’s not the full story of course. Australian sides were, in general, so poor that any improvements Cheika made would seem dramatic whereas Hansen has the challenge of adding to the higher base of the well-performing New Zealand sides.
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Still, there is something there. Just as some Australians were losing faith in the Cheika project he provided some proof that his motivational skills remain high and that he is not so pig-headed that he can’t make some tactical changes between Tests (16 kicks in Dunedin compared with nine in Sydney).
Who honestly thought the Wallabies would go so hard at the All Blacks in the second half last week just when it seemed the home side had them on the ropes? And at the heart of it were Will Genia and Kurtley Beale, two players Cheika had fought so hard to repatriate.
In fact, the Bledisloe I second half and Bledisloe II had me thinking about the previous World Cup.
That strong tournament also came on the back of a strong lead-in period where Cheika could really hammer home the messages around behaviour and expectations, as well as the obvious conditioning demands.
That’s where Cheika excels. Perhaps that quality goes back to his days as a successful businessman, but the man can manage a project. Now he has one again, with the 2019 World Cup also sharpening his focus.
By contrast, I think Cheika got lost last year. I don’t think he had a really clear idea for the Wallabies, he got baited by Eddie Jones and Hansen and he lost his way. In fact, by the end of the season, following defeats to Ireland and England, the Wallabies looked like they needed time away from him.
And let’s not get too carried away by last week’s performance. There is still a gap between the Wallabies and All Blacks, perhaps best illustrated by the skill shown by replacement second-rower Scott Barrett in setting up the match-winning try for his older brother Beauden (I have seen Rory Arnold carry out that skill in a Super Rugby game but not yet in Tests).
Additionally, the Wallabies have a big task in front of them to beat the Springboks in Perth next week, especially as they now have to deal with elevated expectations post-Dunedin. Even though they have a dreadful record in Australia the Springboks have started a turnaround process of their own and will arrive with a fair bit of confidence.
However, even in defeat the Bledisloe series might have shown us something. After a diversion along the road, Cheika might be back.
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