YOU’RE A BRAVE MAN, JOE
Cheika puts pressure on Schmidt over Carbery pick
AUSTRALIA coach Michael Cheika has questioned Ireland’s decision to drop Johnny Sexton and start Joey Carbery for tomorrow’s first Test in Brisbane.
Joe Schmidt has left out a clutch of players who landed the Grand Slam in March as he continues to assess his options in the build-up to next year’s World Cup in Japan and Cheika, who worked with Sexton at Leinster in the 2000s, said it was a big move to start the Munster-bound Cabery in the key out-half role.
‘You would be a brave man to be telling Sexton he wasn’t playing,’ said Cheika yesterday.
‘I had to deal with it for a few years where I had to tell him he wasn’t playing and he
almost ripped my head off every time. The other lad (Carbery) is a fine player, he has got a real skill-set and to be honest I don’t think Johnny would be keen to give him a chance to play either.’ Whether Cheika and the Wallabies are miffed that Ireland have not named their strongest line-up for the first Test is unclear but Schmidt implied the out-half decision was taken during training at Carton House before the squad jetted out for Australia. ‘One of the things with Joey was that we really wanted to get him out at 10 at some stage, and we thought the best window was to give him the longest preparation window possible,’ said Schmidt. ‘Johnny runs a really solid game. People are deferential to Johnny because he has been in the seat for a long time,’ added the Ireland coach. ‘But if he has been in the seat for a long time and no one else gets to sit in it, then we just leave ourselves a little bit exposed if he’s not in the seat.’ With Rory Best not travelling due to injury, his Ulster colleague Rob Herring starts at hooker alongside Jack McGrath and John Ryan with Peter O’Mahony captaining the side from blindside flanker. Jordi Murphy comes in for the rested Dan Leavy at openside flanker with Robbie Henshaw starting at outside centre in place of Garry Ringrose. While Schmidt has shuffled his deck, Cheika has gone with his strongest available side, containing a combined total of 623 caps, although injuries have seen him hand debuts to hooker Brandon PaengaAmosa and rugby league convert Caleb Timu at No 8.