Cheika keeps digging

Stuff reports:

Cheika attempted to explain why he has been putting the All Blacks and New Zealand Herald in the same basket when it was the paper who made the editorial decision to run the cartoon. 

He is under the impression the All Blacks leaked a story to the paper that a listening device had been found in the New Zealand team’s hotel in Double Bay before the Bledisloe Cup opener given they were the ones who broke the news on game day.

“The whole bug thing came out from there,” Cheika said. “We had policemen in our offices asking us questions, asking our management questions about it. That’s serious stuff to be accusing people of and it’s not true. That’s their go-to, nothing happens without that connection.” 

You might expect a coach from say Uganda to not understand the difference between a rugby team and a newspaper, and think that somehow one is controlled by the other. For an Australian to seriously suggest the All Blacks are responsible for what cartoons the Herald prints is pathetic.

Hansen continued to stir the pot on Sunday, telling Cheika to pull his head in and make it known that the offer of a beer would have in fact been on the cards. 

“He’s obviously feeling the pressure and had a bit of a meltdown,” Hansen said. “The best thing he can do is stop whining. If he doesn’t think people are respecting him then ask yourself ‘Why would the media dress me up as a clown?’ and then go and fix those problems. He’s a good man and he’s under pressure. 

Media have done cartoons portraying Richie McCaw as Richie McGrub. Did he blame other rugby teams for this? No. He just didn’t let it get to him and continued to play and lead well.