Michael Cheika before the first Bledisloe Cup match between his Australia side and New Zealand. Getty Images
Michael Cheika before the first Bledisloe Cup match between his Australia side and New Zealand. Getty Images

Michael Cheika has faith in long-term plan despite Australia defeat to All Blacks



Australia coach Michael Cheika has acknowledged fans have a right to be angry after yet another Bledisloe Cup disappointment, but insisted he is still the right man to lead the Wallabies.

Australia are on the verge of handing the All Blacks a 16th straight Bledisloe series victory after a second-half capitulation saw them lose 38-13 in the opening fixture in Sydney last weekend.

Cheika said he felt the loss, which has led to calls for his sacking, as deeply as any fan.

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"I'll tell you now, there's no one hurting more than me than when I walk down the tunnel and I see my two kids there crying," he told Australian media in remarks published Wednesday.

"I'm certainly not thinking we don't merit a negative response - of course we do."

Cheika said his team "had to take a lot of bullets" from critics as they build depth for the 2019 Rugby World Cup but they were working towards more consistent performances.

The coach, who guided the Wallabies to the 2015 World Cup final soon after his appointment, was confident his long-term plan for the team remained on track.

"I've always had a plan about what I want to do. Sometimes you get bumps that take you a different course, you lose players, different things happen along the way and you've got to be able to adjust to that," he said.

"But when you know exactly where you're headed, it makes it a little easier to deal with those things because you can stay on track."

Cheika also refused to write-off the Bledisloe for another year, saying Australia were capable of snatching their first win at Eden Park in Auckland since 1986 to level the three-match series on Saturday.

"There's those who can hold their nerve and those who can't," he said. "I'd like to think I'm someone who can hold my nerve in these situations, keep the team confident and believe we can go out there this weekend and win.

"I know that you guys [media] don't think that, but I think we can."

All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said Australia were "a smart rugby team" with a proven capacity to rebound from defeats.

And he said Eden Park's intimidation factor would count for nothing if the All Blacks did not lift their game in anticipation of a more intense performance from the Wallabies.

"We know we're going to be playing a wounded beast," he told allblacks.com.

Schedule:

Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)

Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)

Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four

Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 

Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)

Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)

Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 28: Final (Dubai)

Winners

Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy 

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

'Joker'

Directed by: Todd Phillips

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix

Rating: Five out of five stars

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Series result

1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets

2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets

3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets

4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets

5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

MATCH INFO

FA Cup fifth round

Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin

Director: Shawn Levy

Rating: 3/5

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5