Under-pressure Cheika gets vote of confidence

Rugby Australia have relieved some pressure on embattled Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, saying he has the full support of the board and will serve the full term of his contract.

At the same time, though, RA chief executive Raelene Castle said the governing body “can’t just ignore” the poor performance of the Wallabies in Bledisloe Cup tests against New Zealand over the past two weekends.

Australia’s 38-13 and 40-12 defeats allowed New Zealand to stretch their hold on the cup to 16 years and led critics to call on Cheika to quit or be sacked.

Castle said there was no intention to replace Cheika, pictured, before his contract expires at next year’s World Cup in Japan. Cheika has said he will step down if Australia fail to win that tournament.

“He’s contracted through to the World Cup. He’s got a plan, we’re across that plan, we’re comfortable with it,” Castle said. “But clearly, you can’t just ignore the performances, they’re not acceptable.

“So it’s about what can we do to support him as an organisation to make sure he’s got what he needs. Certainly from our perspective, the board and myself, our support’s behind Michael Cheika.”

While Castle’s comments indicated Cheika’s job is safe, his assistants, including defence coach Nathan Grey, may not be as secure.

“There’s parts of the game [where] we haven’t performed, particularly around our defence, and that would be something that we’ll be having a conversation about,” said Castle. “I don’t think it’s about changing what we’ve got. It’s about what can we bring.”