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Michael Cheika laughs off Bledisloe Cup favourites tag


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WALLABIES coach Michael Cheika has laughed off suggestions that Australia is favourites for this year’s Bledisloe opener against the All Blacks on August 18 in Sydney.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, a master at stirring the pot, made the audacious claim on Monday after selecting another formidable 33 man squad for this year’s series.

Winners of the past two World Cups, the All Blacks have lost just eight of their past 100 Test matches to be the most dominant team in international rugby history.

Hansen played the underdog card on the basis of the Wallabies’ 23-18 victory in last year’s dead rubber in Brisbane, the most recent meeting between the trans-Tasman rivals.

But it was only Australia’s second win in 19 Bledisloe encounters, a run which has seen the All Blacks hold the Bledisloe Cup since 2003.

Speaking to reporters following the announcement that Wallabies captain Michael Hooper had signed a five-year contract extension on a deal believed to be worth more than $5 million, Cheika brushed away Hansen’s comments.

“I’ve got to admit I was a little bit surprised (when I heard that),” Cheika said.

“Hansen’s a fine coach, he’s obviously a great rugby mind, he’s leading the team that’s the best in the world.

“He’s a great coach but I think he may have had that one wrong because I don’t think many of his players would believe it to be honest.

“It’s pretty irrelevant at the end of the day, it’s for the bookies.”

At present, the bookies have the Wallabies at $4.25 outsiders.

The New Zealand coach’s comments continued an intriguing theme of trying to stir up a war of words.

In 2016, Hansen went out of his way during a press conference to say that Cheika had been bullied by his former Randwick teammate, Eddie Jones, during the Wallabies’ 3-0 series defeat on home soil.

“Cheika’s not come back, he’s letting Eddie have a free rein — to the point where it actually seems like he’s letting Eddie bully him in the media,” Hansen said.

“I don’t know if that’s because they know each other that well, or if there’s a pecking order from the old days.

“That’s gone on to the park, hasn’t it?”

But far from reacting from the favouritism tag, Cheika downplayed the significance of Hansen’s psychological mind games.

“Sometimes you say stuff and go ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said that or whatever’,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal, it’s not like they’re going on about it.”

“I don’t think it’s very realistic. I don’t think his own blokes would believe it, so maybe that’s why they didn’t say it again after the presser.”

While Cheika was in a relaxed mood at Rugby Australia’s headquarters in Sydney on Friday, the national coach shrewdly deflected questions on the make-up of Hansen’s All Blacks’ side for the first Test as debate rages across the ditch as to who should wear the No 10 jersey.

“It doesn’t really concern me I suppose but what I do know is this — Beauden Barrett has been the best player in world rugby for the last two years in a row and he’s an exceptional player,” he said.

“I’ve coached teams that have felt his wrath personally and his skill and ability.”

“There’s no doubting that (Crusaders playmaker Richie) Mo’unga — he’s a class player and a good young fella.

“I happened to run into him I was on holiday with my kids over in Fiji and he was over there with a couple of other players so I got to meet him, he’s a lovely young fella.

“But Barrett’s class and I think there’s no doubt he’s a player the All Blacks value very much and he’ll be out there next Saturday.”

On Sunday, Cheika will trim his squad from 36 to 28 ahead of Bledisloe I.

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