Australia boss Michael Cheika muscles in on Eddie Jones’ referee meeting ahead of crucial England clash in Melbourne
Aussies gatecrash talk with Craig Joubert as Red Rose gear up to clinch series win with victory in Second Test at AAMI Park
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AUSTRALIA boss Michael Cheika gatecrashed Eddie Jones’ meeting with referee Craig Joubert as he turned up the heat for the crunch Second Test.
With tensions high, Cheika took his chance to go along to the talk between Jones and Joubert at AAMI Park in an unprecedented move.
World Rugby rules allow rival managers to listen in — but England coach Steve Borthwick admitted it has NEVER happened to him before.
The Red Rose scrum has been hammered by Aussies — from World Cup-winning coach Bob Dwyer to hooker Phil Kearns — claiming that Dan Cole’s technique is illegal.
England feel this is a plan to unsettle their front-row and influence Joubert as they bid to clinch a first series win Down Under.
Cheika revealed: “The English guys wanted to see the ref so, as normal — as the rules are — we were invited along.
“So we will go along and have a listen. We didn’t ask the referee for the meeting.
“The rules are that, if you ask for a meeting, the other team gets invited — if they want to take up the opportunity. And we figured we would.”
But Borthwick said it was a first in his career. He added: “In my experience, it hasn’t happened before. It’s a question for them, if they want to come along then that’s fine.
“Joubert is one of the world’s best refs and we have every confidence he will ref the game and scrum well.”
With England already leading 1-0, a win would seal a historic series victory Down Under.
But Cheika is desperate to get back on track and take it to Sydney for the final Test.
He added: “Of course we want to bounce back. It hurts losing, it hurts a lot. There’s no brushing that away and that pain still sits inside you.
“That’s why England want to win again because they don’t want the pain of losing either. That’s what drives us — the feelings you get after the game in the dressing-room — the great emotions of victory and the pain and hardship of losing.”
But Cheika is spot on about England not wanting to feel the pain of losing.
Aussie boss Eddie Jones has his well-drilled Red Rose squad playing with such confidence that they are yet to taste defeat in ANY of his seven Tests in charge.
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The perfect example of that new-found focus is skipper Dylan Hartley, who is so hell-bent on crushing the Wallabies he had no idea he will become England’s most-capped hooker tonight.
Hartley wins his 74th cap at AMMI Park in Melbourne to overtake World Cup winner and his former Northampton Saints mentor Steve Thompson’s record of 73. It is a milestone Hartley never dreamt of when he arrived in Sussex 13 years ago from New Zealand — because he was playing as a loosehead prop.
Ahead of a game that could take England to second in the world rankings with a win, Hartley, 30, said: “I’ve just found out about it, it’s a huge accolade.
“I was playing loosehead prop when I came to England — so there was no way I expected this. I’m cherishing every moment. When you’re young, you might not, you are just caught up in it.
“It makes me desperate to be in every time and keep being involved with this team. I just love being part of a group who want to go somewhere.
“This is our cup final and we have a chance to be the first team ever to do this. Has there been a mindset shift? Definitely.
“It starts from the top and it filters down through myself to the senior players and through the 32.
“It’s not just the players, all the staff are doing the best they can to make sure we’re prepared for this weekend.
“It was nice to win in Brisbane, but the bigger picture — the real history — is yet to be made this week and that is the challenge and opportunity for us. It is really exciting.”
Former Australia coach Jones, dubbed ‘Eddie the Enemy’ since arriving back Down Under, predicts this series will go down as one of the best ever.
He added: “The first Test was a fantastic game of rugby — and a lot of neutrals have said exactly the same thing.
“If it continues in that spirit, it will be a fantastic series. I know we’re going to step up. I know this team is going to get better and Saturday is the opportunity to do that.
“We’re not concerned about Australia. We worry about our performance. If we can control that and play as well as we can, it will decide the result.
“Australia are a wounded animal and they’re going to come hard at us — but we’re in a good spot to play well.”
AUSTRALIA: Folau, Haylett-Petty, Kuridrani, Kerevi, Horne, Foley, Phipps, Slipper, Moore (capt), Kepu, Arnold, Carter, Fardy, Hooper, McMahon.
ENGLAND: Brown, Watson, Joseph, Farrell, Nowell, Ford, Youngs, M Vunipola, Hartley (capt), Cole, Itoje, Kruis, Robshaw, Haskell, B Vunipola.