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Tuesday 21 August 2018 07:30, UK
Australia hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau has defended under-fire head coach Michael Cheika after last weekend's loss to New Zealand.
Cheika has come in for criticism after the Wallabies' second-half submission in Sydney left them on the verge of losing the Bledisloe Cup series for the 16th straight year.
However, Polota-Nau says the players on the park should be taking the heat.
"He's definitely the best man for the job," said Polota-Nau, who described Cheika as a great motivator with the right blueprint for the Wallabies to succeed.
He's definitely the best man for the job.
"It's more about how we take that blueprint and put it out there on the field.
"At the end of the day we're the guys out there on the field and only we can control what the plays are at hand."
Lock Adam Coleman expressed similar sentiments at the Wallabies' Waiheke Island base off the Auckland coast, where they are preparing for Saturday's second Test at Eden Park, live on Sky Sports Action.
"We've got full confidence in this coaching staff and we back them 100 per cent," said Coleman.
"There has never ever been a question about that so I don't know where that has come from."
Australia have not won at Eden Park since 1986 but Polota-Nau dismissed suggestions the record was weighing on the Wallabies' minds.
"[We] don't even consider what they call the hoodoo of Eden Park," he said.
"I've played there quite a few times and managed to win only once - in 2009 with the Waratahs - but we have to make sure we use that one opportunity and reminisce on the good times.
"My biggest motivator is to win again at Eden Park."
