Our big lads inspired by a little fan
A WRITTEN manifesto of the Wallabies’ new identity, hanging on the wall of their hotel in Mendoza, is being kept secret to the public.
But coach Michael Cheika says much of the aims are represented in the viral video of a young fan celebrating last week’s win over South Africa.
Sebastian Natoli’s screaming, hyperventilating, floorslamming support of Australia was captured on camera and watched by the entire Wallabies squad this week.
The video, which has garnered nearly 9000 “likes” on the Wallabies’ Facebook page, embodies what the team hopes to instil in a new generation of supporters.
“Every player has watched the video of that little kid,” Cheika said. “I know that’s not what everyone wants to hear probably. ‘You’ve got to have results’ and all that, and of course we want that, but we (also) want kids enjoying the game and watching the Australians play.
“A lot of the guys that are in this team would have been youngsters when the 1999 World Cup was going on, and they would have been hassling their parents to wake up at 1am and watch the games. That’s what we want people to do. There is a bigger picture too.
“I know we’ll always come back to the results. I know that and I want that too. I’m not looking for a way out.
“Everyone wants to win. But we want to do something else as well.”
Cheika has made a host of changes and had planned to start Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, David Pocock and Ben McCalman tomorrow regardless of last weekend’s result. HOW Michael Cheika became coach of the Wallabies and how Kurtley Beale will bring up his 50th Test cap this weekend are as inextricably linked as the men themselves.
Ten months ago, Beale’s career began falling apart in this Argentinian city, and the ensuing fallout from his clash with Di Patston eventually led to coach Ewen McKenzie’s resignation and Cheika’s appointment.
During that period, Cheika’s support for Beale never wavered and that loyalty to the player is a big reason why Cheika was seen as the right man to take over the national job.
“He is a great leader, he knows how to get the best out of his players and he certainly does that for me,” Beale said.
“He keeps it very grounded, and his honest and straightforward approach gets the best out of me and I know a lot of the other guys react in a similar way.”
Many were washing their hands of Beale while Cheika was figuratively holding his during the messy saga.
“I just felt like he needed some back-up, even when people do some things wrong they need support,” Cheika said. “God knows I’ve done some things wrong, everyone has done something wrong, and you still need support at those times.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that what you did was right, but you still need backup. And I’m also a big believer that not everything can be judged in that heat of the moment.
“My gut feeling was that I should back him, but also be realistic about the fact that what happened wasn’t right. I’m not trying to justify it.
“Sometimes it’s a matter of supporting people because they need it.”
And the relationship between the pair can now be likened to father and son, with honesty as the cornerstone.
“I don’t think it’s payback, it’s not like we’ve got a good relationship because he owes me,” Cheika said.
“We’ve always had a good relationship and you know what it’s built on? More often than not, it’s just honesty. I’ll be honest with him, he’ll be honest with me, and that makes life a lot easier.”
And so against the odds, Beale, 25, will reach his milestone match under Cheika when the Wallabies play Argentina in Mendoza tomorrow morning.
The last time the Wallabies were here, Beale was left out of the match by McKenzie after his mid-flight argument and Australia were beaten by the Pumas.
The text-messaging scandal involving Patston then erupted. Ironically, the cyclonic whirlwind of his career leads him back to Mendoza a new man, celebrating the achievement and striving for redemption.