London: New Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is using light-hearted tactics to break the tension in the Test camp and the players expect his passion to breathe new life into Australian rugby.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the coach made his on-field expectations perfectly clear when he put his players through a brutal and physical first training session at Dulwich College on Tuesday morning Australian time to set the tone for his three-year tenure.
Cheika has spent less than a week in the Wallabies job and will have just four training sessions to make his mark before playing the Barbarians to start the spring tour.
The Super Rugby championship-winning mentor has a reputation as a feisty character with an expectation of the best, but Cheika cracked jokes in his first team meeting to put the players at ease.
The Wallabies have battled off-field controversy for almost a month, bouncing from the Di Patston-Kurtley Beale text message affair to Ewen McKenzie's decision to quit as coach.
New defence coach and former Test star Nathan Grey said the challenge for the Wallabies was to have a winning mentality.
"We're going through the process of looking to change a few things," Grey said.
"It's just the close games and certain scenarios that we'll look to get a bit of polish. That will take time, but we're not mucking around in terms of getting on board with the players and picking their brains.
"We want to play a style of football that the players are encouraged to be in and the fans love watching us play … that's taken into consideration.
"It's between the ears, having a positive mindset about being dominant and maintain that and then being adaptable."
Cheika and Grey combined to lead the Waratahs to the Super Rugby title, but said there would be no selection bias to NSW players.
"There's no chance, at this level we extract the positives that all Australian franchises are doing … we're a collective representation and our game will reflect that," Grey said.
"Moving forward we have to draw on who we are as a nation and as people and that will put us in a good mindset for the next month and the next 10 years."
Cheika wants his forwards to be physical and dominant on their five-game spring tour, but has also detailed his vision to allow the players to back themselves from anywhere on the field.
It's the same approach that worked for the NSW Waratahs as they clinched their first Super Rugby title this year.
The coach is set to tinker with the Wallabies line-up to play the Barbarians, with Quade Cooper and Will Genia set to get their chance to impress.
"There's a good view of him [Cheika] out in the big, wide world. But I wouldn't say he's that scary when you're playing underneath him," halfback Nick Phipps said.
"You've got respect for him and you never cross that line. But he's a bloke who loves getting in there, having a chat with the players and sharing a laugh or a joke.
"In his presentation he was cracking funnies and lightening the mood among the boys. It's been a stressful few months so just to make sure the players genuinely love and want to play for the Wallabies. That's what we're committed to."
Phipps has established himself as the first-choice halfback, but Genia and Nic White are trying to oust him.
"We want to have that mentality [to have a go], often the right thing to do is to kick it out but we want the mentality that we can have a go," Phipps said.
"We do want to throw the ball around and have an expansive game … but with the cool, calm heads to know when to do the right thing."
The Wallabies will play the Barbarians on Sunday morning Australian time less than two weeks after Cheika started in his Test job.
