The last time England came to Australia, Michael Cheika tried in vain to ambush Eddie Jones. This time, he is offering support to his former team-mate and coaching rival, while plotting a salvage operation on another continent.
In 2016, Cheika was in charge of the Wallabies, who had reached the World Cup Final the previous November, but endured a 3-0 series whitewash at the hands of Jones’s revitalised Red Rose side.
The men who once both represented Randwick RFC in Sydney traded verbal blows in the course of three tempestuous weeks as England claimed historic victories in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Eddie Jones and Michael Cheika have had some fascinating battles over the years
Six years on, Jones is Down Under again and backed into a corner after another grim, three-defeat Six Nations campaign followed by a half-century mauling at the hands of the Barbarians eight days ago.
But the national coach has received a timely endorsement from Cheika, who will follow events here with interest, as he prepares for his first Test in charge of Argentina – England’s next visitors to Twickenham and their first World Cup opponents next year.
‘Eddie has done a fantastic job with England,’ said Cheika, with the first-hand experience of a man who endured seven consecutive defeats against him – the last of which led to the end of his five-year stint with Australia.
Jones is under pressure after overseeing England’s poor first half of 2022
‘I know they (English public and media) go up and down with him, but he’s been there for more than six years and not many England coaches have lasted that long – and achieved the sorts of results that he’s been able to achieve.
‘It should be a really good series down in Australia, as the 2016 one was. It didn’t go well for us, but it was pretty entertaining.’
Cheika has noted how Jones is again going through a mid-World Cup cycle overhaul, adding: ‘We are playing them in November so we’ll have a chance to go up against them then. It looks like England are changing a bit.
Cheika has praised Jones’s work with England, and expects him to get the team back on track
‘Eddie has done that big World Cup mix-around like he did during the last cycle as well. He mixes it up and sees who is up for it and who’s ready to go next. Then he’ll narrow it down as it gets nearer to the tournament.
‘There’s no doubt England are going to be a serious threat. They are one of the best teams in the world and they’ve got good young players coming through as well. They are World Cup finalists from last time out so I’m sure they’re going to be a serious threat.’
England will seek to take their winning run against the Wallabies into double figures this month, at the expense of a home side now being overseen by Dave Rennie. Jones admires the Kiwi but he will miss the sparring with Cheika.
‘It was always good fun against Cheik,’ he said. ‘Knowing each other reasonably well and having a bit of fun on the international stage certainly added a bit to the game. Dave (Rennie) is a very respected coach but I don’t think we’ll have the same interaction. I’ve seen Cheik is still on the television, looking very smart, so I’m sure he’s going to be making some comments somewhere along the line.’
Cheika is confident that England will get better as next year’s World Cup draws nearer
Cheika’s comments about Jones are actually sympathetic, despite a heavy defeat at the hands of England in Oita, Japan, in a quarter-final of the last World Cup in 2019, bringing a painful end to his Wallabies reign. That result and inevitable fate hurt Cheika at the time, but it didn’t discourage him from becoming head coach of Argentina, after acting as a consultant for the Pumas.
Asked if he had been wary of accepting another high-pressure international role, the 55-year-old said: ‘No. None of that. I’m actually the opposite. I’m not into the whole pressure thing. I am a head coach. That’s what I have always done.’
He is relishing the assignment ahead of him. The Pumas are preparing for a series against Scotland – starting on Saturday in San Salvador. Remarkably, it will be their first home Test since August, 2019.
Argentina have suffered more than any other leading nation in the Covid era. The loss of their professional team, the Jaguares – who had become a force in Super Rugby before being abruptly ejected – meant the country’s leading players have had to find work in Europe again. It’s the way it used to be and Cheika is confident they can thrive in adversity, in keeping with a proud tradition.
Cheika is the current head coach of Argentina, who will face England at the World Cup
‘It’s nothing new,’ he said. ‘There have been obstacles put in front of the Pumas throughout their history. There are always challenges, like players being at northern hemisphere clubs and playing southern hemisphere Test rugby – that type of stuff.
‘Their exit from Super Rugby was pretty swift, without a lot of notice. It was not easy for them. They’ve gone from having a lot of their leading players here, to having players dispersing around Europe, without any chance to acclimatise for that, because of Covid.
‘I suppose you take advantage a bit of the idea that it’s us against the world. They’ve been able to do well in that scenario before, so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again. I think that spirit is still in the Pumas squad, for sure.
‘Those great Argentina teams of the past drew energy from difficult situations and I believe the guys now have the ability to do that too. We don’t prepare like England, who have their base camp there at Pennyhill Park and it’s a fantastic set-up there.
‘We can’t prepare like that. We have a different environment and circumstances, and we have to use that as our weapon when we go into the tussles with the big teams. We don’t have the big resources like everybody else, but if we work together, we can really achieve big things. There are no excuses.’
Cheika knows what Argentina are capable of, following their 2020 win over the All Blacks
Cheika knows what Argentina are capable of, having been involved in their preparation for the epic, maiden victory over the All Blacks, in Australia, in 2020.
Led by the imperious Pablo Matera, the Pumas made up for a disrupted, gruelling build-up – as the squad did very little training together and were forced to isolate for months away from their families – to claim a momentous result with a thunderous, passionate performance. ‘They did it that one time, so it shows it can be done,’ he said.
This is a man with ‘previous’ when it comes to seizing a troubled team and rapidly transforming them into contenders again. When Cheika took charge of the Wallabies in the autumn of 2014, they were in disarray, but he revived them so fast that they reached the World Cup Final a year later at Twickenham.
So Jones will know that while his old sparring partner is showing some solidarity now, Cheika and his Pumas could pose a real danger to England in November – and next year, when it really matters, in Marseille.
