Cheika expects Ireland fightback
Michael Cheika expects an improved Ireland effort as they look to bounce back from their first defeat in 13 matches in next week’s second Test against Australia in Melbourne.
The Wallabies coach was delighted with his side’s work-rate in their 18-9 win in the series opener in Brisbane, but he warned the players that a backlash is on the way in seven days’ time.
Tries from Bernard Foley and David Pocock were the difference as the home side got their 2018 campaign up and running with an excellent win over the Grand-Slam-winning tourists at Suncorp.
But Ireland will be out to make it one-all in a week’s time and, after Joe Schmidt made changes to his team for the first Test, Cheika is expecting a muchchanged and much-improved Ireland effort at AAMI Park. “They’ve got such a good squad, a lot of depth,” he said.
“If you have a look at the guys who were sitting on their bench tonight and even not in the squad, there’s a number of changes they could make and I imagine that a lot of guys could play in this series.
“They’ve got quality all across the park and that’s being genuine. They’re not number two in the world for nothing, they’ve won a stack of games in a row, Six Nations champions with a Grand Slam off the back of it, and you can’t do that without a lot of depth. Whichever player plays, every game is going to be a tight game right until the end.”
Other results: Wales 23-10 Argentina, Japan 34-17 Italy, Fiji 24-22 Samoa, Tonga 15-16 Georgina. -