Cheika: Don’t judge the Wallabies on 2016 results

I thought Ireland played very well in the first half when we played them… it’s all half games.

The fact that they regrouped and took total command to win the second half 25-6 was testament to the players’ growing confidence and self-belief – and to Jones’s influence.

Both coaches have questioned the legality of the other side’s scrum this week, with Jones lighting the fuse immediately after England’s 27-14 win over Argentina at Twickenham last weekend.

As England took a lap of honor, the Wallabies took their lumps in the same dressing room in which they finished 2015, after losing the Rugby World Cup final.

Jones described the leadership of Dylan Hartley – the favourite to captain the Lions in New Zealand – as “absolutely outstanding” for England this autumn and put forward Twickenham man-of-the-match Ben Youngs for a starting No9 jersey in the summer after a “masterful” display against the Wallabies.

England’s fourth victory of the year over Australia saw them equal their record of 14 Test wins in a row set between 2002 and 2003 by the team that would go on to win the 2003 World Cup in Australia.

If I said the name Reece Hodge to you, you would know that I am talking about a player who has literally exploded onto the worldwide stage for the Wallabies.

Despite their impressive achievement, there was little fanfare.

Eddie Jones said England could not have played any worse in the first 20 minutes against Australia, but revelled in its second-half dominance that secured a 37-21 Twickenham win and an undefeated 2016.

“There’s a tipping point in the team when you get six, seven, eight players with that absolute desire to want to do well then if you’re not in that group, you tend to fall out”.

“If players don’t challenge themselves, they won’t be here”.

Understandably, a ideal year of 13 wins has created a number of lofty comparisons to other England teams but Jones said the hard work had barely begun as he reiterated his desire for the side to become the best in the world. The final, to be specific.

The Australian newspaper mocked Jones on Friday by picturing him as a clown with the St. George’s Cross painted on his face, beneath the headline, “Introducing The Real Clown of Rugby”. It is the seemingly impossible perfection of Comaneci that he craves more. “There is a feel-good factor and a self-belief that we didn’t have in the past”.

Australia’s try started from a scrum, which was ironic, because the scrum was a hostile subject between the coaches in the buildup. “We want to be at our best on that night”.

“The way the game is going, it is quicker and faster and he needed me to operate at a higher level”.

Australia were 10-0 to the good after 18 minutes and had England on the ropes but were unable to preserve that lead as Eddie Jones’ side consigned them to their ninth defeat of 2016.

Neither did England have any world-class players, he added: “We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves”.

Cheika is sticking to his view that it is his job to develop players for the 2019 World Cup rather than be exclusively focused on the bottom line that is the number of games won or lost.

“We’ve made that point back home already”, he said.

“I’m very positive about the team as a whole”.