Cheika unhappy with Jones comments

Australia head coach Michael Cheika feels Eddie Jones has tarnished his reputation in his home country for comments he made during the summer.

Jones guided the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final but accused the Australian media of an orchestrated campaign against England during this summer’s tour Down Under.

England went on to complete a series whitewash and they will be looking to equal their record of 14 consecutive wins when they face the Wallabies at Twickenham on Saturday.

Speaking ahead of their final game of 2016, Cheika believes Jones has damaged his reputation with some of the comments he made during the summer tour.

“There was a lot of vitriol about Australia - his home nation where he coached and where his opportunities were given to him to catch and grow up as a coach and play,” Cheika told reporters on Monday..

“Personally, if you’re looking to leave a legacy somewhere, you don’t want to hit back at it, do you?

“I certainly wasn’t [disrespecting England] and the players weren’t. I don’t think the media did either."

Cheika refused to enter into a war of words with Jones and maintains he was right not to rise to his taunts.

“In June, maybe I gave the opportunity to see how a former Australian would deal with it. It was a bit like a goal-scorer who scores against his old team. I suppose it is always difficult where you go back against a team you have coached before and don’t know how to play it,” Cheika said.

“Do you stay reserved or get stuck into them? I know what I do, even in a country like Ireland when I'm there where I coached for many years.

"I didn't coach the national team there, but that's the choice he wants to make, and he thinks is best for his team."

Jones has done little to ease the tension ahead of Saturday’s clash by asking for a meeting with referee Jaco Peyper to discuss Australia's scrummaging.

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