Australia vs England: Michael Cheika furious with Steve Hansen over Eddie Jones 'bullying' remarks

(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Chris Jones21 June 2016

Australia coach Michael Cheika today hit back at All Blacks counterpart Steve Hansen for claiming he had been “bullied” in the media by England boss Eddie Jones.

Australia lost the three-Test series when defeat in Melbourne on Saturday gave England a 2-0 lead with a game to play and Hansen said Cheika’s refusal to engage with Jones through the media had ended up playing out on the pitch.

Cheika allowed Jones to hog the headlines in the lead-up to each of the first two Tests but was not about to let New Zealander Hansen’s jibe slide.

“I’d be pretty nonplussed about that,” said Cheika today. “That’s a really shallow sort of view on what’s really involved in coaching and he knows better than that. It’s easy to kick blokes when they are down. We are down but we’ll be getting back up, don’t worry about that.

“I think that’s a place where sometimes a lot of people like to see us, especially in rugby. Australia is down, we’ve been down before and we’ve got back up and we will be doing the same again right now.”

Aussie Jones has relished ramping up the traditional sporting rivalry between England and Australia and said the Melbourne win was “rope-a-dope” against a blunt Wallabies attack.

He defended Hansen today, suggesting he had ulterior motives.

“He’s only being mischievous, he’s trying to help himself for the Rugby Championship,” Jones said ahead of the tournament involving Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina.

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