Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has resorted to brainwashing the team into believing they can conquer the All Blacks and return the Bledisloe Cup to Australia.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Cheika has dismissed Australia's diabolical start to the Super Rugby season as 'insignificant' in the context of genuine trans-Tasman supremacy.
Any optimism might seem fanciful after 15 years of trans-Tasman heartache and a collective none-from-12 strike rate for Australia's five provincial teams this season against New Zealand powerhouses.
But Cheika has emerged from a three-day camp upbeat after indoctrinating his Wallabies into believing that - against all odds - they can bring down the world champions in this year's three-Test series.
"Our players are getting heavily criticised at the moment around their performances and I want to make them believe in themselves," he said.
This week he assembled a 48 man train-on squad.
"Sometimes that's what happens - your performance is down and you've got to get out of it and we want to help them with that, to get those guys back into form," he said.
Cheika is heartened by the coaches of the Brumbies, NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Western Force and Melbourne Rebels pulling together and pushing the Wallaby ideal.
"That's what we've got to do more of. I've seen a lot of everyone throwing grenades left, right and centre and that's not going to help rugby here at all.
"You've got to believe in people and believe in what they're going to do, so I believe in my staff and we believe with our other coaches that are with the state teams, they believe in their players, we believe in their players and together we do that."
He said he understands why Wallabies fans might be despairing, but is hopeful his dogged commitment to vibrant ball-in-hand rugby can restore hope for long- suffering supporters.
"We've got a certain way we're going to play in the jersey this year, we toyed around with a couple of things last year in what we looked at, and tested a few things, and we're very clear on how we want to play and the cause we want to play for.
"This is what we're doing. This is how we're going to perform on the field or these are the things that we're looking for, I'm just not going to let it go. I'm never going to let it go until we play like that," Cheika said.
-AAP
