Schmidt wary of ‘workaholic’ Wallabies

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has seen Michael Cheika make his mark on teams in Dublin, Paris and Sydney, and the one constant he expects to have been passed on to the Wallabies by their new boss is a collective work ethic.

Cheika brings Australia to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday less than a month after taking the reins of his national team following the resignation of Ewen McKenzie, yet in wins over the Barbarians and Wales followed by last weekend’s defeat to France, Schmidt has already seen the foundations for success the Aussie instilled at Leinster, Stade Francais and the Waratahs.

“They’ve got a workaholic defence,” said Schmidt, who followed Cheika into the Leinster hot seat in 2010. “One of the things Cheiks does really well is he gets them to work and he gets them to work collectively.